A little late, but D was deferred. Accepted OOS to UNC (she was rejected Duke ED, so she already knows she loves the location lol). UVA would be a top 5 or 6 for her if she were to get in to all of her remaining schools, but UVA and UNC were always somewhat neck and neck. Funny, because her counselor was confident on UVA and had told her she would be rejected at UNC and to prepare. Ha!
She was great with the deferral. Opened it in front of her mom. Mom sighed, D said “Oh well, would’ve been a good option” and then went to sleep over at a friends without further ado. Oh, to be young again! Anyway, came home next day and when we brought it up she shrugged and basically said that she’s in UNC and probably will have 3-4 choices. Emory and her brother’s Cornell are on her list, as are Wake and Wash U. Deferrals at UM and UVA, and her counselor is confident she’ll get into UM (though UNC probably trumps it for her).
Congrats to everyone who was accepted. It’s an awesome school and an amazing place to spend four years. Happy for the future of our country with all of these brilliant kids, and all of the great options many of you and your children have/will have!
Really interesting that my D in NY has a very similar pattern. Def from her ED school (Ivy), admit to UNC (totally unexpected) and def by UMich and UVA (we expected an admit over UNC). Lots more schools to hear from and no rejections yet. Strange year in admissions from what I hear.
We were told flat out not to ED to Duke. But she has an amazing application- great grades, 35 ACT, really interesting an in-depth EC, very good athlete- that as parents we simply told her to ED to a dream school. That she’d get in to places where she’d be happy to go, but didn’t want her thinking “what if”.
It’s a really hard year. Obviously test optional made the applications skyrocket. I think what that will do long term is basically broaden the “Top 20” to a top 50 or so, as unbelivable candidates that typically swarmed the Ivies and the top publics will now filter into the next “tier” of school. Intrinsically a very good thing, and outcomes will likely trail this process by 5-7 years.
Honestly, we’ve had the conversation with our kids that a lot of the chasing of elite schools is for their ego, their car sticker, etc. Yes, they have to now apply to many more schools than they used to and open themselves up to being really happy in them. But kids with really good old school stats are going to get into a couple of top schools. Might not be THEIR top choice, but it would be extremely rare for truly exceptional students to get rejected everywhere. We’re in a pretty competitive private school, and the last two years it’s been a bloodbath in ED and EA. April rolls around, and the kids you expected to be somewhere ended up somewhere. Patience is hard for us all!
Basically…get that FIRST school you would be happy at under your belt, and then try to enjoy the ride a bit knowing it’s a roller coaster.
We have one more after this, in three years. Thinking he’ll be applying into a completely different system!
Hey, I hear you. My older two were rejected and my last one was deferred and offered Wise campus. I have come to learn over the past few years, they only accept a certain percent from our high school and it tends to be the wealthy kids with much lower stats. All of my kids have gone out of state, full-tuition scholarships, Honor’s colleges, new areas to explore and more. They have all excelled and continue to excel. They all grew up 2 hours from UVA, and the experiences they are getting elsewhere are priceless. They are attending schools in more urban and populated areas, with much more opportunities. I lived in SW Virginia for over 30 years now, and the area is in no way booming. Job opportunities are minimal, and it is certainly not the area I would wish my kids to settle. Next year at this time, you will understand. I certainly believe our kids end up where they are supposed to be. Good Luck! I am positive you have an amazing kid who will do amazing things, where he was meant to do them! A final thought, if graduate school is in the plans, the school a UG degree was earned is not important.
Thanks, I appreciate that insight He will definitely get a masters as his field of study is too complex for just an undergrad degree. I wish it was easier to find out where the kids from schools are getting admitted into graduate programs - it’s been a bit of a struggle to get placement data.
Westchesterdad22, is that Westchester NY? From the same region and it’s not pretty in the the college process. Lots of top kids all applying to the same places similar stats. Some get lucky in the early rounds. Some are unlucky. And many are put in limbo until RD. TO has made the process far more difficult than it was just a few years ago. D went through early rounds this year with mixed results. In to a few safety, in to a target ( in the middle of her list), deferred by all reaches. Now in wait mode for next 4-7weeks.
Charlottesville is more Central Virginia, not Southwest Virginia. It is a small city. Kids from UVA find plenty of opportunities , lots going to Washington DC , Richmond, etc. And of course, many pursue opportunities outside the state and more local area.
Good luck to all your kids that were accepted, and also that were deferred or rejected this year. And hope they enjoy whatever college they end up at. Lots of great schools out there.
Unfortunately, that isn’t accurate. I work in VA, but am a NY resident and so is my DD22. Viriginia’s tax contributions toward state Universities isn’t as abundant as one would assume. I had this conversation with a mom friend some months ago. I can’t state specific contributions but not enough for VA residents to cry wolf. Particularly in comparision to say California that pays their fair share in both CSU and UC systems.
The school where the UG degree comes from makes no difference whatsoever on graduate school admissions. If your child is going into research-based degree, the number one factor outside of grades and test scores is if the research interest matches what the grad school is conducting. I know many many kids entering IVYs, top programs in their major and other more competitive grad schools as graduate students from less competitive state schools and small LACs.
What kind of passive aggressive compliment is this? Whew!! Clearly this young person’s application COMMANDED the AO’s attention!! GPA isn’t the end all be all, and neither is test scores. For generations I’ve heard of students with below average stats get into ivies and T20 schools. Unebelievable at the entitilement in the forum. We all want what is best and what we think out children deserve, but as such is life, it doesn’t always work out this way.
Please redirect your energy to the legacies and donors children and their stats. Smdh!
Congratulations my dear. I wish you sucsess and great accomplishment in everything you do now and beyond. Opposing views and ignorance are apart of this world, especially when you don’t “fit the mold”. As I tell my daughter, stay on your path and in your light. All the best!
Actually, state funding in Virginia is tied to the percentage of students attending from in-state. They need to maintain approximately 75% instate enrolled to maintain funding. They do accept a higher percentage of OOS (than the 25%), but the yield is lower than it is for in-state. In all honesty, in-state Virginia rates are much much higher than OOS rates with scholarships applied. For all of my kids, it would have cost us $5000 - $15000 more a year to attend a school in Virginia. If Virginia doesn’t want to hang on to their own residents, there are plenty of states, with better economies and job opportunities, that will pay for your child to come there.
Yep, Westchester, NY. It’s relatively ugly. Combination of SO many things. Obviously enhanced application pool from test optional. ECs are getting harder to distinguish than in the past (probably a good thing, as it seems a good 75% of kids these days do these things solely for college apps, which is a terrible life lesson). For those submitting test scores, test prep is available online to anyone with a desire to do so, and “top” scores are much more common. Only a few years ago we used to do double takes with 35s or 1550s. Now? Several dozen in my D’s class have those alongside her. Writing? I’ve seen these essays. How do you choose? So many eloquent, funny, well written pieces. They know they have to “nail” them and start writing them the second the school releases the prompts over the summer…
Which is all to say that yes, it’s become a total crapshoot in college admissions. I don’t think the schools are satisfied (well, maybe financially they are as this has been a boon to them), the students aren’t satisfied, and I suspect building a perfect class is a lot more difficult with both less information and many more potential students. So I think we’re in the perfect storm of college applications…this 3-5 year period is likely going to be looked back on as the worst. Colleges will figure out a way to better address the current status quo, and hopefully that adjustment will benefit all. Until then? Well, don’t set your heart on a school. You’ll likely be going somewhere else.
Things have definitely changed in the last few years. D1’s experience only four years ago was very different. Looking forward to the new landscape for D3 in a few years
He will definitely get a masters as his field of study is too complex for just an undergrad degree. I wish it was easier to find out where the kids from schools are getting admitted into graduate programs - it’s been a bit of a struggle to get placement data.