Chance son for a bunch of reaches [NY, valedictorian, 1520]

He got accepted at UMich, Villanova and Stony Brook…

Still waiting on Vandy…unless I read the OP incorrectly!

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My bad - mixed up the V schools :slight_smile: Still very impressive :slight_smile:

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UofM is #18 for Cellular Biology, so if the OP is drilling down by major, they have already met the T20 cut.

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And how religious are most Catholic universities today, anyway?

It’s a mixed bag. I would say Fordham has a pretty strong Catholic identity. Georgetown I felt was more secular. Regardless I never felt pressured or marginalized or any such thing at either university. At the same time, students should be comfortable with things like having priests as instructors and academic advisors, having a resident priest in their dorm, crucifixes in classrooms, etc.

That’s the funny thing about ranking and not sure which you used - OP didn’t apply to

UIUC - #3 per college raptor
UCSC - #6
UCONN - #7
UCSD - #8
UM not top 10 - all they list

or College Factual

UIUC - #4
UCONN - #8
UM not top 15 - all they list

But UM is #4 rated by College Authority (link below)

I think it comes down to - OP is going to be fine - top 20 overall, not top 20, etc.

OP is a stud - and that’s what matters.

Best Colleges For Cellular Biology | School Authority

Kudos to your son for garnering such a strong academic record.

Regardless of how his remaining applications pan out, he is in a great position having been accepted by several strong schools, including a T20 in Cellular Biology (UofM). Don’t discount the value of honors programs; they might provide better research opportunities and access to professors than regular admission at more prestigious schools do.

Has he visited all the schools on his list? After he has all his acceptances, I would encourage him to chase fit and outcomes after visiting schools, not rankings and prestige.

Good luck to him.

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That’s the plan! We will narrow down his options and visit the schools he is strongly considering. He also applied to UofM’s LSA honors college and should hear back within the next few weeks

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Definitely considered some of these schools as well but decided not to each apply for certain reasons

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Your son is incredible. I can’t wait to hear where he ultimately decides to go! Please do report back. Wishing him luck :two_hearts:

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I also think you will have a few more options from your list. Your son reminds me of my daughter – she is from NY, pre-med/neuroscience and did research at stony brook in the summers.
From your list this is how her cycle went:

Accepted
Brown–Attending
UMich
Northwestern University
Johns Hopkins University
Cornell University
Washington University in St. Louis

Waitlist
Tufts University
Harvard University
Duke University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania

Rejected
Yale University

Expect some surprises and a lot of waitlists. I also have a grad student at Stanford, curious since you said Stanford was his dream school, why did you ED to Brown instead of Stanford?

Keep us posted, I’ll bet he will have the problem of choosing between great schools!

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He thought that ED would boost his chances more than REAing to Stanford. I think brown was able to sense that he didn’t actually fit / want to go there and I am so thankful they rejected him (even though it also has added much stress). He wasn’t even upset when he was rejected which just confirmed that he didn’t actually find it his top choice

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Also wow these decisions are incredible! I hope he has this much luck

Varies. A school like Georgetown may have a different feel from Catholic University of America or Christendom College.

I think he will! Must love to learn and that should carry the day on a few decisions.
It’s a long process, but you’re in the homestretch…

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And the pressure is off with some strong admits already received. It’s all gravy from here, whether he gets one more acceptance or 10.

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For sure. This is the mindset going into March

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Just realized I forgot to include a deferral from northeastern EA. Could this be yield protection? No one from his school got into the main campus. 2 relatively surprising admits to London and the NYC campus (both have quite low GPAs and not great EC)

Stanford doesn’t have ED. It has REA…and that would have restricted EA applications this student did to other private universities. Another good reason not to do REA.

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Northeastern currently has a 5.6% acceptance rate. The number of applications increased dramatically this year.