I suppose we are worried that nothing is 100% a sure thing. Plus we hope to have some choices in the end.
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You may want to distinguish between a safety which is 100% assured for admission and affordability (e.g. automatic admission for stats that the student has) versus a likely which has no assurance but historically has not rejected anyone like the student in recent years.
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Here’s a secret that parents of kids who have already been through the process know:
October is a cruel month. Classes have kicked into high gear; lots of homework; all the EC’s have “too important to miss” meetings and events; essays need to be written.
November is worse. All of the above. Plus midterms (there’s usually one or more class which is wearing you down- MUCH more work than you’d anticipated). Plus everyone is talking about college. Even the dentist has an opinion.
December is dreadful. The weather is cold and gray, too many deadlines, not enough sleep. The strain of being a HS senior AND having to worry about next year is starting to grind away at you.
And then comes January. Unless you got good news in December- an early application, you have been admitted to your top choice and it’s affordable, so you can burn everything else-- but if that isn’t you, you still have a few late deadline apps to finish, you are up at night worrying about the typos and the “did I transpose the numbers of my social security number” questions… and all you can do is wait wait wait.
February is either the pits (you don’t hear anything, or you get rejected from a college you didn’t love but it still hurts) or is great- you get accepted to a place you love.
And so on and so forth until the decision is made. But honestly- the year is a total grind. Don’t kid yourself that you can do a quality job on 20+ applications while you’re also juggling multiple EC’s and your school work. Quality suffers. Sleep suffers. Mood swings ensue.
Cut the list to a manageable number once you have two rock solid safeties you can afford and which are going to accept you. And then add judiciously. You don’t need reaches AND high reaches- a reach is a reach is a reach. They don’t end up in different categories just because one is unlikely to accept you and another is REALLY unlikely to accept you.
You sound amazing. Don’t put yourself through 20+ applications! You can only attend one! Just tracking the paperwork (which teacher hasn’t finished the recommendation?) can drive you nuts!
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Hi all. Thank you again for your helpful advice! Below are some mid-cycle updates. I am still waiting for a bunch of EA and RD decisions, but I wanted to share where I am so far.
Tufts (ED): Rejected…not surprising
Binghamton (EA): Rejected
University of Delaware (EA): Rejected…this one surprised me, but also did not submit optional “explain bad grades” essay or demonstrate interest
Bard College (EA): Deferred. Bummer, but will submit LOCI and also 4.5w first semester senior grades and hopefully additional Scholastic Awards coming out 1/26.
SUNY New Paltz (EA): Accepted
SUNY Purchase (EA): Accepted
SUNY Geneseo (EA): Accepted
University of Pittsburgh (Rolling): Accepted
Ithaca College (EA): Accepted with merit
Wheaton (MA) (EA): Accepted with merit and into the honors college
Seton Hall (Rolling): Accepted to School of Diplomacy with merit. Not sure of fit for a trans kid.
CUNYs - Hunter, City, Baruch, Brooklyn: Accepted
University of New Hampshire: Accepted with merit
Still waiting for Clark, American, Union, Muhlenberg, UMass Amherst, and Rutgers-NB all EA and then a few more reaches RD. Right now New Paltz, Ithaca and Wheaton are all affordable and in the running. Seton Hall is also affordable, but again, not sure of fit. Would love to hear people’s thoughts on these options!
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Congrats. It’s nice to have options.
This (linked) is from a survey they did in 2018/2019. You might reach out to a campus pride club and ask to speak to someone ask admissions to speak with a student ambassador.
I know from other threads others have chosen SHU over AU because the merit aid / overall cost is better.
Talking to people on campus is always a good thing if you can.
Campus Diversity and Inclusion Survey - Seton Hall University.
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Congratulations 
! That’s impressive - that early in the cycle you have many affordable choices and 3 affordable good fits. A success by any definition!
Have you been able to visit or do you plan on attending admitted student days?
Have you reached out to various campus groups as well as to the office that serves LGBTQ students?
At Seton Hall, perhaps also reach out to the Campus Ministry and/or the faculty in charge of the Core?
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Have the net prices (after scholarships and financial aid) of the above fallen into the affordable range?
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Do you qualify for NY’s Excelsior Scholarship or for a NY TAP award?
The hope was for under $30K. All but UNH and Pitt are already there, and I have only received financial aid letters from Wheaton and Geneseo so far. We do qualify for Excelsior and TAP.
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So you have several assured!!
Yes, Pitt is very hard to get significant merit and since you’re OOS, they’re not going to give you big need.
Congrats on having the choices thus far. You can only go to one - so you’re in outstanding shape!!
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Congratulations, @catthekid07 on ten affordable acceptances so far! That’s awesome!!!
I’d be pretty shocked if New Paltz, Ithaca, or Wheaton (MA) were not at least welcoming, and more likely affirming, of trans students.
In addition to some school visits (which I think would be a great idea), I think it would also be helpful to reach out to members of LGBTQ orgs to see if you can talk to T students about their experiences at the school. And when you do visit schools, don’t hesitate to have the admissions office help arrange the visit in terms of sitting in on a class, meeting with any professors in departments of interest, potentially arranging an overnight visit in a dorm with a current student, etc. Now that they have accepted you, their goal is to get you to attend. Making sure you get access to information you want when making your decision is in their best interest, and yours.
Thanks so much for the update and hope you continue to let us know how you winnow in on your school of choice!
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I’m sharing the latest since everyone on this thread was so generous with time and suggestions. On Friday, I was accepted EA to Union College with a full tuition grant!
I’m still waiting on other EA and RD decisions, and I wrote a LOCI for Bard, but Union has rocketed to the top of my list for obvious reasons.
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Great news but I’ve reread the thread. Union was never mentioned.
Where did it come from ?
Congrats to you.
Thank you. It was a later add at the recommendation of my school’s college counselor.
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Congratulations! That is fabulous news!
I suspect that you can probably list at least 66,456 reasons why you like Union, but can share more about your impressions of the school and what you like about it? Have you had a chance to visit it? I love to get feedback from a variety of perspectives, especially since it wasn’t one of the schools on your original list. 
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Thank you! Mom here. Union went on his list because of the strong marks for faculty, the location not too far from NYC (home), and he is intrigued by the trimester system. The students seem pretty happy, too. We have yet to visit but plan to attend one of the upcoming admitted student days.
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Congratulations! I love Union - especially for your interest in Poli Sci, Public Policy, & Gov’t. They do a great job of taking advantage of their location in the Capital District by setting up internship opportunities with the legislature and state government agencies in Albany. In addition, their Term in Washington can’t be beat. Sponsored by the Poli Sci Sept & led by a department faculty member, you spend 10 weeks in DC engaged in a 30 hour a week internship + 2 courses, one a Poli Sci seminar on US foreign policy and the other an American Studies class focused on Washington as an urban space. Check it out.
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Hi again. Adding a few more updates while I wait on my reaches for regular decision. March might be rough for me. I am expecting many denials, but at least I have choices.
American: Accepted with some merit and aid, but not enough to make it affordable. We appealed, but it was denied.
Rutgers-NB: Accepted, but no merit or aid. This was a last-minute add, and the NPC didn’t work for us, but I gave it a shot.
Muhlenberg: Accepted with merit, aid and a talent scholarship.
Pitt came back with some merit, a lot of financial aid, and a direct admit to their graduate school for public policy. This now makes it tied with Union and Muhlenberg for the most affordable, but it may be too far for me to travel. (I would like to be able to come home quickly on the occasional weekend.)
I am a semi-finalist for the MLK Scholar Program at Ithaca. It will also be one of my most affordable options if that comes through.
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