I’m so sorry! Sounds like your child will thrive wherever she lands. It seems like just a few years ago it was a heck of a lot more predictable and easier to get into certain schools. Hope you have a happy surprise with Duke tomorrow. I know of a few legacies that were rejected ED so the waitlist might actually yield something. If not, Lehigh or a Maryland Honors are options to be proud of.
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My heart breaks for these kids that did everything right, everything they were told would put them on the path to getting into their dream schools. I am really rooting for all these kids like your DD right now. While I understand why schools had to go test optional during Covid (more specific to class of 21 though, when tests were cancelled), it kind of feels like the rules changed mid-stream for class of 2022 leaving many who worked SO hard throughout high school out of luck if they were the students that were waitlisted/denied to make room for the 20-30% of test optional applicants that HAD to be accepted since the schools said they WERE test optional. I know my DD said that if she knew in 9th grade how this all would play out, she would have just had more fun in HS. 
That said, I totally take issue with UVA’s appalling approach to their deferred students (especially ED deferred like my DD) - they suggested that they just wanted to see how she “handled her extremely AP heavy workload senior year” or “how she compared to the overall group of applicants”. Well, as she was crushing it with straight A’s, we made the bad decision to hold off for UVA instead of doing EDII elsewhere. Then UVA ends up deferring close to 8000 kids after EA and only accepts 2%!! I would really like proof that they truly reconsidered those 8K deferred with regular decision kids! In my opinion, they messed with our kids (especially the ED kids) and it resulted in missed opportunities for many kids. If they aren’t treating their deferred students fairly, they should just deny them from the start.
Sorry for the long post - just needing a place to vent - partly for my DD, but also for all the others that deserved o much better this year.
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This story is very similar to a friend’s D22 —in state VA.
Her D is, like yours is extremely deserving of all of these great institutions.
The one thing I noticed, while following these threads for my own D22, is the focus on the university and not the program that fits the student.
My friends D was accepted to 3 of the best journalism programs in the country, but she feels she has failed because she didn’t get into UVA or Northwestern. She should be celebrating, but is feeling like she failed, which is so wrong on so many levels.
Something is terribly wrong on how sell our kids on the credibility/value
of certain universities.
Hugs to your D ~ she will thrive no matter where she goes
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Thanks - she has a great option that she’s super excited about (just east of UVA! 
), so we are truly relieved and happy. It’s just been a rough few months and I feel for so many kids this year.
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One of my strategies has been to research the most famous alumni that have graduated from the schools that my DD got into to (specific to what she wants to study). She wants to go into media studies and film and we just figured out that the creator of two of her favorite TV shows is a graduate of her likely school! It really helps kids to see the potential paths!
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Completely agree with UVA deferred. It’s one thing to waitlist- there’s a reasonable expectation that the chances are slim. But to defer and then only accept 2%…huh? Agreed. Just reject them. There’s NO way that the RD pool was so considerably stronger than the deferred.
I’ve trumpeted Dean J’s transparency on social media, which I think is amongst (if not THE) best resource for students and their families navigating this process. I truly believe they got a bit over their skis on deferrals. That, or they were being disingenuine to the students- which I’m not ready to believe. Would love a candid “We were faced with a truly unique application cycle and we miscalculated a bit on some students. We’re sorry.”
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While I agree that Dean J’s transparency used to be helpful in guiding students through the process (in fact I used to recommend my friends whose kids weren’t even applying to UVA to read her blog and watch her Q&As), I don’t believe her advice has been accurate in this very bizarre new admissions world.
Her biggest thing is that they really LOOK at the transcript and they want to see that a student challenged themselves thoroughly in their core courses across all subjects. My deferred then waitlisted DD did exactly that. She took the absolute hardest courses in every single core and got As in all of them. Where did she go wrong? She is passionate about writing, so for her one elective, she chose a challenging writing based elective for her 4 years of HS; unfortunately, there is no AP offered for this course so, who got in? Kids that took AP Psychology (proven easier at our school), AP Photography, etc. and, of course people can ask how we would know that……because we know who got into UVA from our school and what courses they took because with the exception of her writing elective, she’s in classes with ALL the kids that did get into UVA from her school. And, of course it’s not just about grades, but again, we know her ECs and their ECs and she was certainly in the ballpark with her ECs, she has amazing relationships with her teachers, etc. it just really looks like it boiled down to those elective APs that she didn’t have to boost her GPA and I think Dean J should acknowledge - when EVERYTHING is equal, we are going to take it the step further and look at who did the AP electives whether it supports their long term interests or not.
We were very torn if my daughter should ditch her writing elective in 11th grade for an AP elective and concluded that schools that say they really look at a transcript and select students holistically will see her writing passion and it isn’t an EASY course, so stick with it. I don’t regret our decision to have her stick with her writing class because her best friends are in it with her, she’s an editor this year, and it truly brightens her day. But, I don’t appreciate being told a school reviews applicants holistically when it appears they don’t.
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Based on the numbers of applicants vs. experienced AO’s, it is a mission impossbile to do their so called “holistic review”. How many temp workers got involved in the application process? Probablly a lot.
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I would actually boil it down simply to this…they have too many qualified applicants for too few spots, so their admissions selections are absolute and pure luck of the draw. Ten kids with one spot to give? No way they have any real differentiating factor. Luck and, quite frankly, probably luck of the draw. If all essays are wonderful and creative, the kid who happens to write about a subject the AO reading the essay is passionate about is likely to get the edge. Not purposefully, but it will engage the reader a tad more.
The system is broken. I don’t really blame admissions offices. Go higher up. Blame admin. I know for a fact that there is vitriolic communication between many BOT and senior level admins at a few very selective colleges, as we have friends who are on those BOT. One of our friends read an email to a Chancellor, co-signed by a half dozen members of the BOT. Basically, we’ve cheapened the admissions process. We can still achieve all of our goals of first gen, URM, etc. But let’s do it on a merit-based system, where we allow ourselves the tools to decipher the bright and creative students. The system currently in place is a crapshoot.
The response? Stay in your lane and out of mine, check the year on the calendar, and push me out if you need to. But I’m doing it the way I want.
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Yep! I call it college application Hell! Glad it’s almost over!
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Good points! So sad because in the end, it’s a bunch of 18 year olds suffering through their broken system.
What does BOT stand for?
Going to guess Board of Trustees. If so…wow.
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Blame it on high school grade inflation and achievement tests skewing the numbers. When I applied in the late 80’s SAT scores over 1400 where unusual and Ivy League worthy and GPAs of 4.0 unheard of.
Now they have to slog through 1,000’s of scores in excess of 1500 and each school with it’s own grading scale. If high schools could give a certain percentage of A’s, B’s, C’s, etc then maybe grades would mean something.
EC where kids start their own clubs are a dime a dozen and don’t show the creativity or initiative they once did. Everybody thinks they’ve unlocked the code but as a result it’s a pretty homogenous applicant pool.
I don’t envy the AO because they must be looking at tens of thousands of the same applicant so how do they distinguish whose qualified when everybody looks the same. And contrary to people’s thought processes this is surely not unique to UVA…
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The program is important I agree. What is so hard because my daughter was very selective in schools based on the programs. What she has left to choose from are actually not focused on the things that she was most interested in about the other schools. I realize now that we should’ve cast a far broader net in applications but she thought by focusing on five schools that she was really interested in a few would land!
I’m not sure I follow. If she only selected five schools, that were selected because of the program, why are they not a fit?
I agree with adding more schools, I wish my daughter had as well, because she got waitlisted from all of her UC’s, which she wasn’t quite expecting. We’re fortunate that she very happy with a second choice because of honors college admit & location.
I really think many of these kids will be happy once they make a decision and start the planning of dorms & roommates. If not nothing wrong with transferring. Good luck to your D.
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Two thoughts- that is why UVA is very clear that they review transcripts along with grades. Otherwise students anywhere would just take the easier classes and get As. That said, I think this example further supports why testing along with transcript review would give a good read. UVA states they only gave tests a nod before, but I am guessing if someone submitted a 4.0 along with a 19 ACT it would be flagged, for the reasons you state. Also think of the case where a transcript shows all As, at the highest rigor availability to the student, but a rigor somewhat below average in comparison to other students. Yet the student gets 35 on the ACT. I would think this would bolster that applicants chance.
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I think this is precisely what MIT indicated this week - a student without access to 30 AP classes at their school, but still taking the hardest classes they can at their school (which might only mean 3 APs) AND getting a 35 on their ACT shows a lot of potential!
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I totally understand your frustration. Last year was a frustrating year for me with DS1, things were better this year with DS2. We were lucky to get in at ED (in-state.)
Last year a good friend was ED (OOS) and get deferred to RD. He was SO crushed. (We thought he had a great chance in the ED round!) But then we started to look at the numbers (which UVA is wonderfully transparent about)- and saw that his odds were woefully slim to get in after bring deferred). Miracle, he did- but it truly seemed like a miracle…he had spent the months prior doing scholarship interviews, etc at other schools. I agree, I think the wording they use should at minimum be tethered to- check out past data, so that your daughter didn’t get her hopes up. That is brutal. I hope she lands in a place that she ends up loving better than she would have loved UVA. DS1 was wait-listed at a match last year (which was his #1, and by stats virtue he should have been in); he ended up choosing another school that was showing him a lot of love. He is happy, busy and fingers crossed, well on his way to success. I have to believe things work out the way they should…even though in the moment it sucks. Best wishes.
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Any known waitlist activity yet? Do we think there will be any before May 1st or at all?