<p>"What is the best way to “reiterate why he believes his being a student at the school will contribute to the school’s community.” </p>
<p>Small colleges who have tons of qualified applicants applying are looking for students who bring something which contributes to the school’s community besides their academic record. I’d ask my kid to think about what he has to offer to the school’s community if it was an essay question on his application and then to write it in a letter, along with why Colgate is his clear first choice. </p>
<p>I guess D1 was fortunate as were 2 of her friends…all were deferred and accepted as a RD candidates,not waitlisted til May…all were selective schools…</p>
<p>Also if you didn’t have any chance,they would reject instead of defer…</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the thougthful suggestions - keep 'em coming!</p>
<p>gdogpa - I think we are set there. Maybe. I am second guessing everything. Applying ED should show interest. We have visited twice and he attended the HS info session with ad com rep. Interviews are info only and with two tours and two info sessions under our belt we skipped that. Since non-evaluative there didnt seem to be much point.</p>
<p>Longhaul - We are open to a counselor. How do I find one?</p>
<p>Mizbee - you do know Colgate . We will give this some thought. His ECs are not truly Global things but he can put in some additional hours. Though My though was if they didnt like his ECs or activity levels thay would have just denied him outright.</p>
<p>menlo - Looks like he’ll be sending in the AP score. Thanks</p>
<p>He is building a telescope over the holiday break and we though he could send in an essay/photo of what goes into that project.</p>
<p>"He is in at his financial safety that he likes. Will be applying to another just to have options. He was accepted EA at Case with great merit but so -so need aid so that may be a stretch. He has a reasonable list of a mixture of schools where he believes he can be happy. “just not as happy as I’d be at ED choice”. </p>
<p>But does he have schools on his list which are similar to Colgate, just not as selective? He might want to look at St. Lawrence and Hobart. Same size, same feel and similar type kids as Colgate. Both also give lots of merit. My son got $30K and $27K a year respectively.</p>
<p>gdogpa - thanks for the support. It helps keep up the spirit here.</p>
<p>Just to be clear - he is in at a financial safety and has less selective (and more selective) schools on his alternative list. He evaluated his list with care and we remain comfortable with the thought that he will end up at a good quality, affordable school that he likes.</p>
<p>BUT…he has a clear 1st choice and is not a quitter. He wants to make sure he has done/ is doing EVERYTHING he can come up with to go to Colgate. </p>
<p>So…we will be adding suggestions from here and are still open for more.<br>
This site is wonderful for suggestions and input and ALL of it is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>My son was deferred from a low reach/high match EA. It was a stats only round, He was shocked. He did get in RD. I personally believe that this particular school took all the kids in my son’s class who applied there and then deferred anyone with under a certain GPA. They really have to leave a certain amount of spots for RD to make sure that there aren’t ‘better’ applicants out there.</p>
<p>I think a thoughtful letter basically saying why he would be a good match, also addressing the low grade issue sends the signal that he is still serious about going there. Wouldn’t hurt to send in the ACT (to reconfirm his SAT score) and the AP score. Anything you can send will help.</p>
<p>BTW - my son was one of those with the 33 ACT, NMF, 5’s in all AP courses, etc. His GPA was around a 92 after junior year-all AP and Honors classes in a very rigorous private college prep school with a strong reputation. His GPA 1st semester senior year was a 4.0. Unfortunately we found that GPA trumps test scores with selective schools (including those with admit rates as high as 30%). He was waitlisted at several schools we (including his GC and his private counselor) thought were low reaches/ moderate matches. I believe that having super high test scores with a low A GPA signals some inconsistency to the adcoms. JMHO.</p>
<p>momlive - I share your JMHO thoughts re high scores/low GPA. It was a concern here as well. There are some LD issues at play that we chose not to disclose</p>
<p>^I understand. We just found out last summer that son also had some undiagnosed LD issues (ADHD and a sleep disorder) that caused a lower than expected GPA in HS. He had some good choices for college and decided to go to our flagship’s honor college. With medical treatment (which he just started a few months ago - so I can’t give it all the credit), he has a cumulative 3.9 GPA through his first semester of his sophomore year. Yea! He’s now thinking about medical school and I actually believe he can do it.</p>
<p>We didn’t disclose LD issues, either (also lopsided with lots of academic rigor).</p>
<p>If he is truly convinced Colgate is the place, I’d invest in writing another essay. Not necessarily about why he wants to attend, but something that is revealing about how his mind works, what makes him tick, and how his ECs knit together into making him an interesting person. If he has activities/hobbies outside that are particularly interesting or have been formative in his development, time to bring those in. </p>
<p>If there are other schools which he particularly interested in attending, he should make sure those apps get more TLC before submitting.</p>
<p>S2 was lopsided (2290, 3.49 UW/4.24 W, full IB and 11 APs) and spent a LOT of time and energy on essays for his top two choices – Tufts and Chicago. The test scores and grades are pretty much set in stone by now, and to me, essays are the make-or-break. This is where they hear his voice. </p>
<p>BTW, I think your S’s scores are fine – and agree that he needs to finish first semester as strongly as possible.</p>
<p>Both my kids did an annotated activities resume which they sent in to colleges. The process helped them connect the dots between some wildly disparate activities and provided possibilities for various paths with essays.</p>
<p>Sometimes there’s nothing to improve. He’s basically good enough, but didn’t wow anybody quite enough to admit him early. Certainly send a 5 on an AP if they wouldn’t already know about it. If he has a good score (SAT subject test or AP in a non-science) that might make him look more well-rounded. If he didn’t have an outside recommendation from someone who knows him well (like somewhere he volunteered or work) that might well make a difference.</p>
<p>One thought, while the two 800s for his SAT are obviously fabulous, does Colgate superscore and, if so, do you think he could raise the 630? Another question is does Colgate even consider the SAT writing score? Some schools don’t, if they don’t then retaking the SAT is pointless. I’m assuming the 630 was in Writing (my S’s lowest score by far as well) so we focused on schools that consider only Critical Reading and Math. I don’t know the answers to the above questions but I think these are good questions for the counselor or consultant.</p>
<p>skier29, ask on the parents of 2012 thread. At least 1 parent is working with someone on the thread, and the DS has LD issues. In particular, this person has had great things to say about their counselor. I think if you browse through you will find the parent. If I find the name of the parent I will PM you.</p>
<p>It certainly is worth writing a note stating why it is his first choice, and certainly worth sending the grades. It may be worth asking the ad com in an email if there is any particular supplemental information would be helpful. Give a menu of options, like additional grades, another LOR, more information about ECs or the HS, etc. Maybe they will give you a hint as to what the issue is in the application that caused the deferrl. Could the LORs be less than stellar? Sometimes teachers, particularly those with less experience writing LORs, can say things that are misinterpreted.</p>
<p>has anyone out there had any responses from the admissions office regarding a deferral reason? I was somewhat expecting a blanket…"we can only accept so many, need to compare with RD applicants, wait and see, yada, yada.</p>
<p>thanks again for all the good advice. We have made a list and will be implementing many of them!</p>
<p>That’s just what I was thinking skier29. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your son contacting his area Admissions Counselor to discuss the situation with him/her. It needs to be your son, not you, and he can’t be whiney or desperate or anything. I think it shows maturity for him to go to the source, explain how interested he is in Colgate and to ask what he/she might suggest for him to turn his deferral into an acceptance.</p>
<p>skier, I’m surprised too. I think he should continue to express interest but don’t over analyze. Colgate may have had too many ED applicants in your son’s demographic. He may just have fallen victim to the Northeast, White, middleclass, male syndrome. Small colleges, especially those in rural areas, need to overadmit from diverse demographics because high achieving URMs often favor urban centers. </p>
<p>Find a number 2 first choice, have a balanced list, maybe apply to a few more schools than he had planned. In my opinion he could add some very selectives too. In other words, cast a wider net.</p>
<p>I’m a little unclear, though, whether you can get by with need based aid or if you must have merit. My understanding is that Colgate only offers need. My guess is that most of the privates in the Northeast would offer similar need based packages.</p>
<p>Some other schools that are similar to Colgate in ambience (but many of these are need-only). Hamilton, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Kenyon, Carleton. Even though they are super selective I’d add Williams and Dartmouth. There’s nothing in your son’s profile that would keep him out of even the most selective and these colleges admit heavily on personality.</p>
<p>One other thing I would consider would be an additional recommendation, either academic or extracurricular. Sometimes at small colleges more is okay.</p>
. We will give this some thought. His ECs are not truly Global things but he can put in some additional hours. Though My though was if they didnt like his ECs or activity levels thay would have just denied him outright.</p>