<p>Oh no. I didn't even know Bucknell had a checklist online, and I just found today on CC that the decisions had been made. I recovered a pin through my email and I found that it says they don't have my teacher recommendation, and there is nothing resembling a decision on the page. </p>
<p>What happens now? Ugh...</p>
<p>@ fetou
wow. did your teacher actually send his/her rec letter?</p>
<p>Yes, they claim to have and EVERY other college got them. I personally wrote out and quadruple checked every envelope with two different sources to ensure the address was correct on all of them. It has to be on the postal service or their mail sorting center. Or, perhaps it was just an error when filling out the online checklist database, because I have not heard anything through the mail or email about missing a teacher rec.</p>
<p>Re Bucknell12 -Was surprised that Lehigh seemed to be listed among your examples of "better" or "more selective" in your email (I accept Stanford, Cornell and other others for sure in that category) as I think of Bucknell and Lehigh as pretty much on par with each other, although with different personalities. I've known several kids who went to Bucknell over Lehigh (and I'm sure vice-versa). My D. chose Bucknell over Lehigh too, even though Lehigh was actually emailing and offering to fly her out, because the focus on engineering at Lehigh was just not her thing. I am not badmouthing Lehigh at all (personally, I thought it incredibly beautiful and an excellent school), but "better?" I don't see that.</p>
<p>Got an email back today about my recommendation situation. Turns out it was just an issue of whether or not to accept the rec because it was from my AP Computer Science teacher, which they don't consider a core teacher. They are being friendly and deciding to consider it anyhow, so no complaints here. I'll probably have a decision soon.</p>
<p>Anybody else find it funny that, when applying to a school for a Computer Science major, a recommendation from a teacher that teaches intro college level computer science is not a good candidate? :P</p>
<p>oh, maybe thats why. i didn't write the optional essay. i visited, said i would do an interview on the app (but never got one), so i hope they didn't assume that because i didn't do an OPTIONAL essay (that isnt supposed to hurt you if you don't do it) that i don't care about bucknell.</p>
<p>Skateboarder:</p>
<p>Between my two children, I've visited 30+ colleges over the past 3-4 years, some of them two or three times. In every single info session, the presenter has emphasized that the optional essay is not really optional, usually using these or similar words, "It is not optional. In this case, "optional" means "do it." Students who choose not to do it demonstrate they either won't go the extra mile or didn't do their research/didn't pay attention. They want those who go beyond the minimum, who voluntarily step up and do their best and not just enough to get by. Funny thing is that employers work the same way.</p>
<p>If you take that lesson away with you from this, then Bucknell will have given you quite an education and you owe it $200,000.</p>
<p>Good luck wherever you end up.</p>
<p>pickwick- i totally agree with you, i think we are definitely on par with and maybe a little above lehigh. </p>
<p>i agree with K9Leader, skateboarder- if you REALLY wanted to go to bucknell, you could have probably taken the extra time to write a 250 word essay. </p>
<p>bucknell is full of kids who are so thrilled to be here- i've never run into an alum who doesn't gush about their experience. enthusiasm about the school, shown by essays, visits, etc, seems to be really important to the admissions office.</p>
<p>We got to see this process at work from both ends. D was admitted at WashU, while many kids with higher stats were waitlisted. She was also accepted at Rice, Notre Dame, and NC State. Waitlisted at one school: Bucknell. </p>
<p>Was Bucknell her first choice? No. By definition only one school could be, and Bucknell was a backup choice. But should that disqualify her from admission? She did put effort into the supplemental application, did do the "optional" essay, did do an interview, was a female applying to a dept with 75% males (engineering), and should have been in the top 2-3% of applicants. And she would have gone happily had other options not worked out. </p>
<p>The lesson I think we'll take from this is that selective private schools should not be considered as safety schools, no matter how the stats match up. It seems that many schools that evaluate holistically admit with an eye toward yield protection. At larger, less-selective schools, the selection process is probably mostly quantitative, so this is where the safeties should come from.</p>
<p>No need to point out that we're fortunate to have other good options; I realize that. Just trying to better understand the process before D2 jumps in.</p>
<p>This was very well stated tjd. Also, it is perhaps worth saying that as frustrating as it is to have "clearly" qualifying stats and not get in, there actually IS a flip side -- It is pretty frustrating to be a well qualified student who really wanted to be at the school, but be turned down in favor of people for whom the school is merely a remote safety (think BC, which seems to do this a lot). By trying to be holistic, including taking interest into account (albeit it is an imperfect science) , LACs sometimes make seemingly odd choices, these choices probably help their "yield" but are also are designed to help create a class of students who really want to be there, thereby leading to a happy, dynamic class (which is particularly important when dealing with smaller incoming classes). I am sure they get it wrong often, but the goal is not sinister.</p>
<p>Pickwick, I’d agree that the admissions process isn’t sinister, but it is somewhat distorted. Again, to use our experience this first time through the process, D got into her reach schools, but was waitlisted at an academic match (or safety) school. This has created an aid conundrum … by definition she is not in the top of the applicant pool for her reach admits, so not too much leverage with FA or merit aid. On the other hand, had she been accepted at Bucknell, would have been in a more advantaged position for FA and/or merit aid. For our family, and for many others I would imagine, it isn’t just about finding the “right” or “perfect fit” school, but a choice that determines the best option that considers numerous factors, including costs. </p>
<p>So we took the advice from an FA thread to apply to a “financial safety” where kid is in the top 5% to maximize chances for merit aid. Unfortunately, you have to be admitted for that strategy to be successful …</p>
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<p>I think that you may have relied on a definition of “top 5%” as including only the quantifiable things (GPA, SAT, class rank, ECs). Bucknell (or any school) goes beyond those quantifiables and includes unmeasureables/intangibles, such as level of interest in Bucknell (1st choice, an acceptable backup, a last-minute “might as well add one more” application?).</p>
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<p>Well, it didn’t disqualify her - she wasn’t rejected. Bucknell just determined that there were enough other students who had greater interest (or some other determining factor that they know and we don’t) who were ahead of her on their list. Was Bucknell’s determination correct? Maybe. Probably, but no one will ever know for sure. Anecdotally, using the sampling of your D and mine, they were right. My D applied to engineering, has very good quantifiables, a few of the non-quantifiables, including that Bucknell was her clear top choice. She was accepted and received merit aid and very likely will accept. Your D was much less likely to enroll, had she been accepted. WashU, Rice, Notre Dame? The situation very possibly would have been reversed had my D applied to any of those schools. </p>
<p>Anyway, don’t take it personally, although I know that is really hard when it is our children who were disappointed. I hope that one of those great schools she did get accepted to is her first choice.</p>