I’m so glad your daughter is happy and settling in at Trinity.
My D22 with similar stats didn’t get into many of the highly selective east coast schools she applied to, either. She did have great choices in the end… they were just not the choices we envisioned her having when we started this process.
My daughter is going to UCLA in 3 weeks and I just recently paid her fall quarter tuition and room and board. It was about $9K. She is thrilled with her class schedule and signed up for a ton of clubs. She is a one-hour flight from home and she has family and long-time friends in LA who can be there in 10 minutes, if needed. She went to orientation and had an amazing time (complete with a Brad Pitt sighting at the Westwood movie theater, following the Bullet Train premiere).
Don’t get me wrong–I’m fully aware that UCLA is a top prize and her acceptance is incredible. It’s just not what we thought when we began this journey. We were wearing some pretty thick East Coast/Ivy/LAC blinders that I am now happy to say we have removed.
I’ll have a different frame of mind when my S26 gets closer to applying. I’ll care much more about finding good fits, favoring our great CA in-state options, and not being surprised by any outcome.