^^ It seems like that is often the case - I think it’s very rare that students remain upset about not getting into their top choice school after they start at one of their alternative institutions. Reassuring!
@arabm2 - my D is vegan an Chipotle is one of her favorite fast food restaurants. Lots of vegetarian/vegan options (rice, black/kidney beans, peppers, guacamole, and salsa. They have something called sofritas which is a tofu based spicy “meat” that they will put on burritos and bowls instead of chicken, pork or steak. So except for the sour cream and the cheese, most everything is vegan/vegetarian. The food is outstanding. I love it.
Just make sure you turn on the sound on your computer—we were so focused on opening up the decision that we’d forgotten the sound was off, so our bulldog was silent! Luckily, as others have mentioned, you can replay the singing bulldog as often as you want, which we’ve done quite a few times since December!
@MomTwo2 – Wow – EA admitted to Stanford? That has to be the toughest acceptance rate around! Congratulations to him!
@arabm2 My son is also a vegetarian. FWIW, Northwestern was rated by PETA (I think) as the best school for vegetarian options. That wasn’t enough to motivate my son to apply there, though, Ha ha. 
@legacymom look at the admits for some of the 5Cs - pomona, mudd, etc. I think RD there this year was tougher than Stanford REA, and I heard Yale applications are up again…. arch. who knows. and thanks. These kids ALL work so hard. I do hate to see it come down to a handful of “papers” in an AO. I did think it was very cool that each Stanford admit received a HANDWRITTEN note from their OA, referencing something specific in their application. I thought that remarkable.
@MomTwo2 Yes, my son got a handwritten note from his admissions counselor at UChicago, referencing his essay. She also sent him a hand-signed bday card and, if I recall, a Christmas card. I imagine UChicago has a smaller load than Stanford, but I have been very impressed with the way they are courting him.
@LegacyMom wow, that’s making me wish I had applied to UChicago 
even my parents don’t give me birthday cards, haha!
In my limited experience, Yale admits get a personal handwritten note that mentions a specific aspect of the essay that resonated with the AO. Initially we thought it was special, then realized that the SCEA kids we knew all got one, and then came back to thinking it was special, because it is.
@marshmallowpop Ha ha – don’t take it personally. They probably figured cards are wasted on kids. I don’t always give my kids cards – they’re getting presents, right? Who needs cards?
I guess I missed the earlier discussion on Stanford…
That was easily my best app I submitted, and not only because the questions asked were so easy to write to. I felt the smaller word limit allowed me to fit more content, concentrated into a smaller space (it was a more efficient use of my time). Also, I think my roommate essay was the best essay I wrote for any university.
I usually write musical progressions when wanting to speed time up, but for some reason I’ve been blocked for the past two months which is making this wait extremely unbearable. (I say progressions because I couldn’t think of a better way to say guitar/bass riffs haha)
@ everyone – haha. the personal touch by these schools IS wonderful – better than the flagship state school that sent an e-mail, where sentence two was instructions about how to commit, by when, and where to send the housing deposit. :-S you students all put your heart and soul into our applications – it’s nice the AOs acknowledge that. Good luck, everyone!!!
@paleselan I totally agree with your comments about the app. SUCH a great way to help kids share a lot without bogging down the entire application.
Help- I’m wondering if anyone is having the same problem as me: I tried not to focus all my attention on one school to avoid devastation if I get rejected, but for some reason I want to get into Yale so badly, and I don’t know if it’s because it’s my dream school or if I’m perversely attracted to its unattainability. I’ve already gotten into Brown and Columbia (likely letters for both) plus a handful of other top-notch schools, so it’s not as if my “back-ups” are terrible options. (Disclaimer- I never thought to consider those schools back-ups; no one could call those safeties, and I was very happy to be accepted into all of them.) But, I still can’t shake this feeling about Yale.
@godhelpus 3 very different schools, so OF COURSE your focussed on your favorite. Good luck!!
@GodHelpUs Take your admission to Columbia and like it!
@legacymom Haha thanks for telling it to me straight 
@GodHelpUs LOL – well I wasn’t implying anything about your chances. I’m just saying having to settle for the #4 university in the country, rather than #3 isn’t the worst fate. What most kids wouldn’t give for your backups…
@Tperry1982 About the singing bulldog… my son’s computer is linked to a fairly powerful stereo.
After the shock of acceptance diminished, he dialed the stereo up to its window-shaking capacity, and let it rip.
I opened the door to the basement and shouted “Again!”
Sorry to change the subject completely, but last week I was contacted by the Yale Admissions office. I had submitted by counselor recommendation from my gifted and talented coordinator, not my actual counselor. Yale told me to fix this and I got a new letter from my counselor and sent it the next day. This was just last week. I think this means I am still in the running, but I don’t understand how they would delay this until now…did they just notice
Edit: They told me my application was not complete