<p>My S has applied to a few schools around the midwest. Some of the schools have given decisions right away and a couple others, namely Wisconsin and Minnesota, haven’t sent back any decision information yet. Their websites have status checkers and those have changed slightly here and there to essentially “currently under review”. </p>
<p>Now up to thie point, the other schools have all been positive responses. The two schools we are waiting for happen to be his two top choices right now. The main frustration has been that we check the decision threads on CC and we find numerous kids with what seem to be lower stats and that have applied later getting acceptances already. In addition, there are rumors on these boards that if you haven’t had a status change then you are probably just going to get a denial letter at the end of the month. </p>
<p>Should I ignore the rumors? Are there other schools around the country having the same issues? I’ve been dealing with a couple of smaller LAC’s for his twin S and I never feel like this.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with Minnesota. But other large universities - Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, etc. we do see a bit of what you are describing. The extremely strong students usually get pretty quick acceptances. The extremely weak students usually get pretty quick denials. But the vast majority of applicants fall in the middle and their decisions can take months. </p>
<p>There’s no harm in calling - either you or your son - or ask the gc to call if they are willing to do so. Just say you are calling to be 100% sure that they have everything they need and ask when you will have a decision. As a college counseling office employee, I make such calls for my students all the time.</p>
<p>Last year, I was waiting for my son to hear from Michigan and it was mid-March. I called and politely pushed, saying we needed to have adequate time to visit if he was accepted. Within 24 hours of my call, he had an e-mail acceptance. Probably a coincidence, but who knows?</p>
<p>I’ve called Minnesota and they said to just wait until the end of Feb and we would have an answer. Wisconsin doesn’t show a counselor for our region right now so I might have to call the main office to see what’s happening. I’ve wondered if the fact that Wisconsin is looking for a counselor in our region has anything to do with their delay. </p>
<p>The HS GC has been no help in this process at all. I’m actually amazed at how little the HS GC knows about the application process or the colleges around our own region.</p>
<p>Pay no attention to the rumors that if you haven’t heard by now it’s a rejection. Kids post that rumor every year, and every year it’s proven to be untrue.</p>
<p>Waiting is the hardest part. Unfortunately, we all have/had to go through it.</p>
<p>Wisconsin, like many public schools, has rolling admissions. The students that are at the top and bottom do receive quick decisions. The middle students are probably compared to each other and it takes time for fairly equal applicants to be chosen to fill the spots. Decisions are not merely numbers driven, ie it isn’t only the gpa and test scores that determine admissions. The application deadline was Feb 1st so by now they will have all applications and no longer need to save room for last minute apps. All you can do is be patient- they do say you will receive an answer by March 15th. Ignore the rumors.</p>