<p>I've been waitlisted at Emory, Rice, Vandy, and Richmond. Although I'm in to Tulane and Villanova from EA, it would have been nice to have recieved one acceptance for RD. I'm qualified for each of my schools. I'm baffled. I was a strong applicant with an angle.</p>
<p>This is the most competitive year ever when it comes to college admisisons. This is because of the size of the cohort of high school seniors. Next year will be even worse.</p>
<p>So, be thankful for the excellent schools that accepted you, and be glad you’re not applying next year. You can only go to one college anyway.</p>
<p>With 2 EA admissions, you also weren’t “waitlisted everywhere.” Some people actually were. Be thankful that you weren’t one of them.</p>
<p>Northstarmom- this kind of reaction has been posted a lot and I know you mean well, but I think it’s ok, and frankly better, to validate the disappointment that these kids feel. The past four years my son (and others) have worked very, very hard, taking all AP and Honors classes, giving up a lot of “fun” times, videogames, hanging out at the pizza joint, sleep, etc., not only for the love of learning but to remain competitive for college admissions. In addition, he spent weekends and every extra minute writing essays and visiting schools while working on school work, activities, work, research, etc. Competition for college is a real issue for kids today and they have responded to the ever increasing competition by doing more things, working harder, pushing the envelope more, etc. Despite working so hard, my son has the same acceptances as his friend who never took a class above CP level 2 and never had any homework to do at night. He was waitlisted at 5, rejected to 3 and accepted to 3 “safeties”, thank goodness. But, is he really supposed to get philosophical about that and say, but, hey, look, I have these acceptances and I should be grateful I am not a 2009 graduate?! Isn’t this asking a lot from someone who just spent trying to reach a different goal? Was he wrong to have that goal? I guess so. I know we want our kids to respond with gratitude for all they do have but aren’t they entitled to be disappointed at all? Isn’t he entitled to shake his head a bit and say - wow, what happened?! Or, as much as we don’t like to see it - to be a little miffed??? </p>
<p>You have to validate the disappointment and shock that kids feel from this situation while gently moving them forward. While my son will always be better off for having pushed himself, I believe he has earned the right to feel a bit angry, disappointed or dejected for a few days. If he says, this sucks, I say - it sure does. If he says, this isn’t fair - I say, it surely isn’t. I don’t say you should be grateful that you aren’t in 2009. Having lived with him for the past 4 years, I would be royally miffed myself for at least a day or two - wouldn’t you?</p>
<p>My son will get over it and we will push him in that direction but he isn’t stupid. He now knows he could have hung out at the pizza joint for four years and received the same admissions results as his friend. He will be fine - we all experience disappointment but this has been at least a 4 year ride ending in disappointment - let’s give them a few days to get over it before making them guilty for having feelings about this. Today my son said, well, let’s visit these 2 schools again - he’s moving on already.</p>
<p>OK, I tried to edit that post - it wouldn’t let me so please, my apologies for the grammar and discontinuity.</p>
<p>This is an intense waitlist year. As for the admission of the waitlist candidates, I think room will open up soon, I think it will all come down to financial aid and other factors. There is a student loan crisis from what I’ve heard so many people may decline acceptances to certain colleges. Hopefully this will open up some room for you. Good luck!</p>
<p>I am in a worse situation than the OP. I’m an international applicant, and I have been waitlisted at 4 colleges - amherst, grinnell, carleton, and colby at the last count. Looking at this pattern, I’m expecting a similar decision from Williams.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, I was rejected by all the other colleges that I’d applied to - lafayette, swarthmore, oberlin, dickinson, macalester, reed.</p>
<p>However, I do believe that room will open up to us waitlisted candidates. I just hope that the financial aid factor won’t bog me down.:)</p>
<p>@Rileydog </p>
<p>Coming from the point of view as your son, I must say I completely agree. I literally took the hardest course load possible (4 AP sciences, 3 AP maths sophomore year [we have block schedule], multi var calc junior year, etc), and while I did it because I love learning, it still stings to see those who shied away from the classes I took have drastically more success than I in college admissions, while I will be attending the same public school as those who spend their time cheating, smoking, drinking, etc (as well as many many very very qualified students). I couldn’t even get the merit based scholarship for what I felt was a match school.</p>
<p>This probably sounds far more bitter than I mean it to, but I’m not going to hide the fact that I have and will carry a (small) chip on my shoulder reminding me that mere, straight forward hard work could not carry me to the place that I wanted to go. But I know that it’s time to move on, hope for the best with my 1 waitlist school while expecting very little, and take solace in knowing that I AM qualified for all of the schools I applied to, and will carry what I gained in high school to whatever college I attend. And it’s time to look into housing possibilities to the school I am sending my SIR to :)</p>
<p>I am very hesitant to post this, particularly because I know my words are not going to be interpreted in the way I mean them to be - but I know there are many people out their in the same predicament as me and rileydog’s son, and hearing stories of people in similar situations sincerely helped me move on past the whole “why was I singled out mentality”</p>
<p>Thank you Rileydog</p>
<p>ty rileydog</p>
<p>Also, thank you Rileydog - you said so well what I have been thinking.</p>
<p>By the way, in response to the first couple of posts, 2009 will actually be less competitive than this year, because 1990 was a big baby boomer year. Seniors this year seemed to outnumber all other classes (2009, 2010, 2011) at most schools. But I agree with everything else posted; it is definitely not a good year for college applicants.</p>
<p>Rileydog, thank you. You are a very understanding parent. </p>
<p>Your son is luckier in the parent department than he was in the college admissions department, and it is much better that way than the other.</p>
<p>I have no problem with what northstarmom said…she is right…she didn’t get all mushy in her explaination, but that doesn’t make it any less valid</p>
<p>And what she said takes out the “oh what did I do wrong” mentality…and talked about a system that right now is very bizarre, as we have all noticed</p>
<p>and the OP WASN"T wait listed everywhere…when one exagertates so, its a bit hard to fill as sorry for them as they want us to</p>
<p>2009-11 might not be AS bad as 2008, but it won’t be that much better, either. Birth rates taper off slowly. Speaking as the mother of a 1990 baby.</p>
<p>And the title of your post was misleading!</p>
<p>Although there are more students in the 08 class than other classes, it may be more competitive next year. When the 09 class sees the admissions process from this year, and assumes it again will be very competitive, it is very likely that people in the 09 class will apply to even more schools than those in 08, in fear that they will suffer similiar results as 08ers. Plus, there are plenty if people born in 1990 in the class of 09, as schools have different “cut off” dates for enrollment.
Hopefully someone will sort out the admissions mess by then…</p>
<p>Good point tiff, and this will most likely increase the number of waitlists! Never though about it that way. Guess we will have to wait and see..</p>
<p>Rileydog, well said! You took the words right out of my mouth. My son too, worked his a_ _ off for 4 years (actually, all 6 years) taking the hardest course loads possible + baseball + all kinds of leadership…and it breaks my heart to see that in the end, his reward was pretty much the same as the other kids in his school that didn’t really try. While his 3 choices are wonderful schools that he will thrive in, his dream was for so much more. Thanks for a great post.</p>
<p>From my recollection, the peak # of HS graduates, the children of the baby boomers will actually be in 2009, but the links I had to the graphs and tables from the NCES (educational statistics) website no longer works. Tokenadult- are you out there?? You can always find this stuff.</p>
<p>RileyDog,</p>
<p>You are absolutely right. These kids need the time and space to grieve.</p>
<p>But at the risk of saying what you undoubtedly already know, your kid worked like he did not because he wanted to get into a top college, but because that’s just who he is. </p>
<p>While it is frustrating for him to see the “slackers” get into his same school with much less work, as he continues through life they will be getting smaller and smaller in his rear view mirror. </p>
<p>You can take that to the bank.</p>