Eek! That is my son, except my son has a slightly lower SAT and a couple fewer APs (DS also did Moneyball camp!) and my son was admitted – also bc/o that sports analytics major. So that does seem super-random. Sorry. CMU acceptance is great, though. Do they have sports analytics? My son didn’t apply there though he did apply to a few places with the idea of doing statistics and maybe some sports management classes…
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Do you really need to accept or decline a WL? My D didn’t think she had to make a choice. We just ignore the WL and expect we will hear later even though we are not really interested in WL results with already other good or better options.
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How does housing work , is it a lottery? I didn’t see any info on if we needed to do anything for it and i know at other schools we had to make housing deposits even before we decided.
Is anyone still waiting on their financial aid letter? I received acceptance yesterday but nothing in the financial aid portal.
Thank you! I went through the college application process with my older son last year and it was stressful, but this year it seems so much moreso. Congrats to your son on his acceptances this year too 
Once you paid the deposit ($500 enrollment & $450 housing), you can sign the housing contract in MySlice. There is an app called MyRoomie where you can try to find a roommate, but there is no control over the residence hall or the type of room you get. Syracuse requires you to live the first 2 years on campus unless you have some type of exemption (like your family lives close by).
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Yes, you have to click through a couple of screens (one of which allows you to update any new information). I believe it said on the screens that if you don’t opt onto the waitlist by 5/1 you will automatically not be considered for it. So technically if you don’t want the WL, just do nothing.
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Amazing redirection and no doubt what is meant to be, will be.
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This aftermath feels like a slight bummer.
My son didn’t apply to any big reach schools, just likelies, targets and one reach-ish (Case Western). He was accepted at all except waitlisted at Case. Wow, hooray! He had to cast a wide net because he’s applying for Tuition Exchange scholarships through parent’s employer, and because our budget is small.
He only got TE at 1 school (still pretty pricey) and was waitlisted at 2 more. He was denied at a few. That was somewhat worse than expected, but just goes to show what great applicants there are out there. He got some good merit offers, but nothing crazy. We have been grateful for EVERY acceptance and every merit offer, no matter how small. There are a number of offers within budget, which is wonderful. That’s the goal, after all!
Then the fantastic surprise of a full tuition scholarship at Syracuse! My spouse said this morning that it feels so nice that our son is feeling so much love from a school. It’s just like letting out a sigh from him having worked so hard and being rewarded for it. We weren’t expecting it, but boy it feels good. This is the first time that’s happened for our kid.
Had he been rejected, it would have been just a brief disappointment. Just like all the scholarships he applied for and didn’t get.
I know that he’s nothing amazing. I know that the engineering school at Syracuse isn’t the toughest admit. He showed a modest amount of demonstrated interest. He does have good stats by their standards and I think he wrote good essays. They must have decided they like something about him enough that they want him there.
So it stings a bit when the process is framed as almost completely random, or it’s implied that acceptances or scholarships are being declined to students who deserve them more than the ones who got them. I’m not addressing anyone in this thread specifically, and I’ve seen this in a lot of threads. This is more of a general comment.
Case Western is notorious for admissions shenanigans and yield protection, which is why my son and his absolute superstar friend weren’t even annoyed when they both got deferred and then waitlisted despite showing plenty of interest. The students who were accepted at Case are fantastic and they deserve those spots. There’s just more deserving students than there are spots.
I wholly agree that it’s unpredictable, that there’s no guarantee at almost any school, that the admissions process can be opaque, that rejections hurt, that no one should take it personally, etc. I find the whole process maddening, and you have to wear a thick skin and hold things at a distance.
All these students sound wonderful and I bet they’d all succeed were they to be accepted. There’s fierce admissions competition in some programs. I celebrate all the admits and awards even when they’re not going to my loved ones. And no one should ever feel like they have to second-guess whether or not they deserve their offers. I hope everyone ends up with some offers that their kids are excited about – it sounds like there’s a lot of love shown from colleges, it’s just hard to predict which ones will give it to which kids. Congrats and condolences and best wishes to everyone!
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Same thing happened to an applicant last year and she is thriving at another school. If there has been a dialogue with the high school’s/your state’s specific Admissions Officer possibly reconnecting with them to reiterate that if a spot were to open up you’d 100% accept it.
What was the intended major/college of interest? I know last year’s applicant was interested in Newhouse.
Well said! Congratulations on your sons full tuition scholarship to SU! My daughter was lucky enough to receive a full tuition scholarship to SU two years ago and it literally felt like she hit the lottery and still does, especially when she realizes how much many of her friends are paying for the same education. She absolutely loved SU when we were looking at schools for her, but she was happily planning on going to our state school that was great for her major until she got her scholarship. Of course we think she’s extraordinary, but to the common eye, she was a good student with a little above average SAT score with college level courses and lots of EC’s. The major she decided on was specific and she made some great connections with the faculty in the college at SU that she was applying to, which definitely helped (She was actually told that by one of her professors). She absolutely loves Syracuse and we’re so unbelievably grateful for the opportunity they decided to provide for her, but we know she would have been happy at the state school too. This year is so unpredictable with our son, but he has some amazing school opportunities too, which we’re grateful for! As you said, there are so many bright and wonderful students, despite the disappointments from some schools, I hope that everyone finds a place they can be happy and thrive in! Wishing you and your son and everyone on here lots of luck in the future 
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Admissions visits her high school (in PA)
how long does it take to hear back if you are accepted into your school?
My D did get accepted to Whitman, but I was surprised that she didn’t get a scholarship $$. She is a very good student and has excellent stats. Both her mother and grandmother attended SU. It seems like a lot of people on this thread received $$
Thanks for that info. Will pass it on to D. She handles all the portal stuff. Well, we plan to make final decision one week after ivy day and be done with acceptance and deposit by April 14 so waitlist is a waste of time anyway I suppose but thanks for the info.
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Wow these stats! I’m curious if he applied ED? My son will be applying this Fall OOS, so he is currently researching. Syracuse fits the mold the way you described your son. Our counselor said the program accepts 60 kids per year, and the RD decision is 2%! I hope he finds his place!
Wait: your counselor says the program accepts 60 per year but almost all of those are accepted early so RD acceptance rate is only 2%?! That seems hard to below.
For the sports analysts major-yes…
So there’s no hurry to do the deposit before May 1? How are dorms assigned ?
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Wow. Feeling super-lucky about DS getting in then – sports analytics was his chosen major. He was RD bc he wasn’t ready to commit to anything in November… We knew is was a particularly competitive program but didn’t think that crazy. At a fall Zoom meeting about the program they did say that current sports analytics student stats were the highest for the university (said current year avg GPA was 3.93 and avg SAT was “nearly” 1400; but sounds like higher this year?).
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