On the other side of the coin, we live on several acres in the woods, and it’s 6 miles to the nearest gas station and 45 minutes to a Target and I can walk for more than 20 miles through the woods behind our property and not cross a road – but we are considered to be in the NYC Metropolitan Statistical Area, despite being in freaking Pennsylvania. Not kidding!!
So no, my kid did not qualify for the rural designation. And should have, imho. 
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yep. you get what i’m saying. college board’s parameters on rural student designations are often mis-guided. I know, life is not fair. just is a bummer when you see these arbitrary rules affecting your child… . makes me slightly mistrust the process. ok. really - rant over! roll tide!
You don’t want to hear my rant about nmsf cut offs when your kid would make it in any other state except yours and the difference in scholarship money is in the 10s of thousands.
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Is alternate entry a possibility for your kid?
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I think the issue is that some states have cutoffs for NMSF 15 points higher than other states. We missed the cutoff in Texas, but would have been NMSF if we lived in many other states. I think that is the issue they’re talking about.
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I read on a college board site that starting with this month’s PSAT they will be offering a new category for national recognition that is based on being first generation to attend college. So the NRP criteria will expand to a wider group of students.
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I started to ask about that but it seems that it only works if you missed the psat for a specific reason. Not much to do about it at this point but he reported his index of 222 on the application. Don’t think it will get anything since his sat is comparable .
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Yes! The town next to us is rural and we are suburban. Literally if the high schools were on the opposite sides of the street they are on, the results would swap. We have a grocery store a small town, many gravel roads, farms, etc. The other city has a shopping mall, 4-5 grocery stores, and so many other things. It’s bizarre they are rural. I do think we could go either way. But the way the 2 are it just so weird.
Omgggg I literally just sent our adviser same exact words ! Slap in the face !! A friend of my daughter just sent transcript three days ago. Accepted today. Had a 3.7 weighted. Some AP’s not many. Here she is 10 college courses, an Alabama course with a 97% and 8 addled business classes ! Not to mention being in AP/UConn stats with an A!!! I just laced into them. U tell my kid it’s rolling -then maybe she will hear soon but latest end of march ? So she could have to wait 8 months??? Nope !!! I told them I need to talk to hesd of admissions. Need to either get a straight answer why she would be in a secret deferral with a better transcript and we need to withdraw and get our money back if they aren’t going to be transparent.
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It is extremely frustrating. We have a daughter already there too. You would think that we would hear soon after applying and our DD that applied also has a 3.7, with many AP’s, she works, has a ton of volunteering and captain of 3 sports. We are approaching 12 weeks waiting now!!
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I am just going to note, Alabama’s site says nothing about rolling admissions. It says that students that apply by January 15th will receive priority consideration for admission. I recognize that you want an answer from the university, but it is an admissions process. Not everyone is admitted. It is not guaranteed. You cannot compare your kid to another. You do not have access to the application profile of all of the other applicants. As such, it is unfair for you to substitute your judgment (admittedly biased as to your kid) for that of the admissions officer. Further, I doubt it would help your kid’s admissions prospects if you actually called and harangued an admissions officer.
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We are in a similar situation with another school where it seems that everyone else has been accepted already, and that is not my reaction at all. I just experience a twinge of disappointment but am confident that the decision is coming in its own time.
Life is too short to get worked up about something I cannot control.
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It says rolling in common app. Are they not responsible for that? Also it was told to my daughter at the school and with a 2-3 week turnaround decision. If they aren’t going to be rolling then remove from the common app. Also to note they JUsT changed their entire website. Like the other day. So for two and half Months it read completely different. They have changed a lot Including scholarship dates, added rounds, etc etc etc.
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U of Alabama 100% says its “rolling admission” on the Common App. And their “freshman FAQs” say “rolling admission.” Freshman FAQs – Admissions.
I have no idea why they don’t provide some transparency around the process. Very bizarre. This ain’t my first rodeo with college admissions and my other kids landed at much more highly-ranked schools. We always had a good sense of when to expect decisions and good communication throughout. This experience is… different.
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Might I remind members of the forum rules: “Our forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place, and one in which members can post without their motives, intelligence, or other personal characteristics being questioned by others."
and
“College Confidential forums exist to discuss college admission and other topics of interest. It is not a place for contentious debate. If you find yourself repeating talking points, it might be time to step away and do something else… If a thread starts to get heated, it might be closed or heavily moderated.”
Sorry 
you are experiencing the same frustration. It’s good to have supporting members of this group show empathy for the kids applying to schools that are having issues versus arguing without knowledge. Plus in this situation, the process has literally changed overnight. Everything happens for a reason!!
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My DS has applied all over both high and low. This was his safety that he would love if it comes to it. Full IB diploma along with the few APs the school offers. 4.0/4.6 with a ACT 35 which we submitted. He got his transcript submitted 10/14 and got acceptance 10/17. Very excited he has somewhere to go next year at the least and the auto merit isn’t bad either.
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People aren’t here to denigrate UA. It may be the right school for many students. But its not the right school for all students no matter how long or often the drum is beat about it.
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Agree. Each applicant is different. There isn’t a one size fits all. D24 knows a classmate who was accepted at Auburn but not yet at Alabama. You just never know.