Since my last update, D25 submitted 4 additional applications…. Just starting to run out of steam when she learned she was admitted to Yale EA last night!!!
D25 is so grateful for this opportunity and knows how fortunate she is, especially given the competitive odds. We will see how any future RD admissions in March might impact her final decision… But for now, we are celebrating her happiness, excitement, and immense relief!
Thank you again to everyone who contributed upthread and shared advice in list building. What a process! Wishing the best of luck to all those still waiting on decisions!
No pressure to oblige, but I am definitely curious if she now has a shorter list of colleges she would still like to compare to Yale (which as we discussed above is very reasonable, and one of the nice things about applying to a non-binding school in the ED/REA/SCEA round).
D25 is a UNC Morehead-Cain semifinalist and has submitted her M-C application (this involved 13 essays/short responses and 2 video interviews – gah!) She is thrilled to be included in this group of scholars and would seriously consider a Morehead-Cain scholarship.
I think the only other rival to Yale would be MIT. She submitted this application several weeks ago and has an interview after the holidays. Since she won’t hear until mid-March, there is a chance she will be fully on board with Yale at that point… She just loves everything about it, especially the residential college system – but also the liberal arts ethos, student culture, size, location, etc.
I’m doing my best to keep her grounded because I know no place is perfect…. Yale does make that hard.
As an aside, Yale would be the most expensive option of the three listed above (based on the NPC). However, she might not get M-C or MIT either…
I’ve told this story many times now, but one of my S24’s close HS friends ultimately chose Yale over the Morehead-Cain (he was originally deferred by Yale, then got in RD, which shows you what sort of quality of applicant can get deferred!). A lot of people told him he was crazy, but his brother went to Yale and he really wanted to go too.
Which is definitely NOT to say your daughter must make the same choice, should it be presented. More just to endorse the idea it is very personal and contextual for each kid/family. Obviously the same is true with MIT.
My D25 would really love to stay in the northeast. I’ve admired (and appreciated!) her willingness to be open minded throughout the application process…but I sense she finds a big difference between CT and NC. How is your son’s friend feeling about his decision after the first semester?
That’s an interesting question. This is all second hand, but I gather he has maybe had a bit more of a challenge making the transition to college than S24 (who ended up at WashU after being deferred then rejected by Yale) or some of S24’s other friends. Obviously that is not a universal experience at Yale, and I suspect he will be fine in the end. And of course there is no way of knowing how it would have gone at UNC or one of his (many) other options.
Still, I think it is just a basic fact that college transitions can be challenging many places, and not least places where almost all the kids were used to being at the top of their peer groups.
Thanks @thumper1! Yes D25 is done with applications! With apps done, I’m hoping she will have a bit of time to investigate scholarships after a nice long holiday break.
Thanks so much for continuing to update us, @Wall2Wall! I really enjoy following along on families’ journeys from brainstorming for colleges to the decisions and factors that come into play during the year and then seeing the outcomes and where the student ends up enrolling. And right now your D has a plethora of options! Looking forward to hearing how things turn out.
Hi @tsbna44. D25 applied to UNC Chapel Hill as an Applied Sciences major - a collaboration between the Department of Applied Physical Sciences and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering. Along with mathematics, this was one of several academic routes D25 was interested in during her application process. The program looks great! and UNC would have been a major contender if she was awarded the M-C. Unfortunately, as an oos student, UNC is not affordable and the distance from home (12-hr drive) adds additional travel expenses/logistics to and from campus.
My GS is a freshman at UMass in the Honors College as an out of state student. He sounds a lot like your daughter. Captain of his HS LAX team. Preferred to stay in the Northeast. Interested in Engineering. Considered a smaller LAC with an engineering option available.
In the end, he chose UMass over Maryland, Pitt, and several LACs. When he visited UMass, he fell in love with it. Like you, I had the impression of it as too big. But he didn’t. As it turns out, everything is a short walk for him. The Honors dorm is gorgeous and right across the street from the rec building for workouts. The cafeteria is just a couple of buildings farther. Easy access to food is important to him. And there’s a cafe right next to where he lives.
The Engineering building is just beyond the cafeteria, so everything is very walkable, and it has the feel of a much smaller college for him. He is really liking his engineering classes. His intended major is Biomedical Engineering. The connections between UMass and the Boston medical community was an important factor in his decision.
The size of UMass means that there are extensive club sports teams. UMass must have a dozen or so fields for use by student sports teams. These too are a short walk from his dorm. He was able to get a starting spot on the LAX team as a freshman and we were able to go to a couple of his games.
UMass gave him a nice financial package, bringing the cost into the neighborhood of what you’re looking for. As a female in engineering and with her superb academics, I suspect they’ll off her even more.
To me, the Amherst/Northampton area is the quintessential college town. Three colleges in Amherst alone. Both indoors and outdoors, you can never run out of things to do. There’s a shuttle bus going into Northampton every hour, expanding the options for things to do, especially the vibrant music and restaurant scene in Northampton.
Thanks for sharing this @Bill_Marsh! Happy to hear your GS is having such a great experience at UMass – it does offer so much, including an ideal location for students hoping to be in the northeast.
At this point, I feel the advantage UMass has over Yale is that it has an ABET-accredited Environmental Engineering program. (Yale offers Environmental Engineering; it is not accredited.) However, today - 4 months after submitting EA applications in October - D25 is leaning fully into majoring in Mathematics or possibly Computer Science and Mathematics, so the issue of engineering accreditation may be irrelevant. According to D25, a degree in Mathematics or CS and Mathematics will allow for a greater number of higher-level math courses which she is what she wants. It would also free up her schedule just a little to take French classes and explore other electives.
D has enjoyed listing out all the required courses for select majors at different universities (and the remaining opportunities for electives), including engineering, and has found this has helped her focus less on the title of the major, and more on the specifics of her academic exploration.
There really is so much information out there to help make the most of whatever opportunity/path one chooses! I’m grateful for the information and advice I’ve received here!
EEEp! MIT acceptance has just made things very exciting! We have not received any financial information yet, but D25 will likely choose between Yale and MIT for math and CS. A difficult choice for D25! Thank you for any insight - and good luck to everyone still waiting on results and decision making.
Both Yale and MIT are rich with extracurricular opportunities.
In Yale’s favor is its system of residential colleges, which become a hub not only of social activity but it’s own world of extracurricular opportunities of a sort. The residential college system is unique to Yale, Harvard, and Rice to the best of my knowledge. Each residential college has its own “Dean” who oversees the operation of the college and an academic Dean who is a resource for academic support. At Yale, all freshmen are housed together and then pick their roommates for the next 3 years and apply to the residential colleges they prefer. I encourage you to look into this further. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in touch with the Yale system, so I invite correction if I got anything wrong.
What MIT has going for it is the engineering options if your daughter changes her mind and becomes more interested in that field, the choices are extensive. The other thing is that MIT is Cambridge with Harvard and Harvard Square a few blocks away. And MIT is Boston just across the river with easy access by the T. By comparison, New Haven is a relatively small town with not a lot going on outside of the immediate area around Yale, which is vibrant by itself - but it is by itself. Otherwise it’s a 2 hour train ride to NYC by commuter rail. Of course college life is largely about what’s going on in the life of the college and on campus, so you have to weigh how important the off campus environment is to your daughter.
One other thing to look into. I don’t know what your daughter’s sport is, but check out the athletic facilities.
Yale has extensive fields and athletic facilities, but they are located mostly 2 miles away from from the main campus in the west end of New Haven while the rest of campus is integrated into the street grid of downtown. I don’t know what the transportation system is to come and go, but check it out. If a student just wants to go out for a run or a bike ride, the old canal route has been converted into a “rail trail” type of multi-use path for walking, jogging, running, and biking. It’s an excellent facility, maintained by the state, and runs all the way to Massachusetts for miles and miles and miles. It runs right through campus, open but below ground in the city.
By contrast, the MIT athletic fields and recreational complex is right there as part of the campus in Cambridge. There is a jogging path along the Charles River very close to campus. The only negative is the occasional crossing of busy streets, controlled by traffic lights and walk signals. It’s worth doing a comparison of the two to see which one better meets your daughter’s needs and interests.
