<p>
</p>
<p>Ah but Harvard doesn’t even have a deposit! Even better eh?</p>
<p>Here’s my opinion:
She turned down Harvard for a reason. She had a bad experience. Now, if these bad experience was based on unusual circumstances, then maybe she should contact the admissions officer. But, if her bad experience was based upon the environment of Harvard, then it seems she made the right decision. Anyone who rejects Harvard will have second thoughts; that is totally natural. Now I’m not going to say anything against you, but right now your daughter needs you. As a parent, she could be looking for your support in her unconventional decision. Do what you think is best, but keep in mind she turned down Harvard for a reason.</p>
<p>Our son turned down H & P for the other one (Y) and has no regrets. There is no wrong decision. It’s a very personal decision and each person has his/her own reason. All of these top schools are amazing and will offer countless opportunities! Congrats to all who need to make these tough choices! You will have a wonderful college experience wherever you go.</p>
<p>If i turned down Harvard for LAC, my parents would skin me and disown me, only to make my skin into a jacket later. </p>
<p>Why would a LAC be chosen??? Armherst does not even come close to Dartmouth or NW in terms of education.</p>
<p>Haha, now you’re just ■■■■■■■■.</p>
<p>What I want to know is why the daughter regrets. Did she visit Harvard again and find out that her perceptions were incorrect? Or is she regretting because she is rejecting the name “Harvard”…</p>
<p>A kid this year in my H.S. turned down Yale for Pomona. Bold decision. Yes. Bad one? That’s anyone’s call. But he is originally from SoCal and wants to live there again, and he thought the Pomona network would be advantageous to staying in the area. He also wanted a smaller school. So maybe not so crazy after all. </p>
<p>Believe it or not I had a couple people questioning why I chose Brown (a school I love and cannot wait to attend!) over Columbia (I cannot imagine going to a school without a core campus life). In the end they are equally strong in almost everything undergrad in my eyes, but the fit choice was clearly Brown for me. Had I gotten into Dartmouth, Stanford, or Princeton my choice would have been much harder.</p>
<p>bumblebee, for me, a key factor was location… a lot of the LACs i visited were in the middle of nowhere. They were gorgeous, yes, but they were in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of them are tiny, and i didn’t realize just how tiny until after i’d gotten in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the messages from everyone. My daughter had contacted the admissions office before I posted my first query and they told her they would reconsider her admission, but she had to interview with several admissions officers. She went by herself to Cambridge and spent several hours making her case for admission. She returned home, satisfied she had made her case, but knowing it was a 50/50 change she would be readmitted. Luckily for her, it all worked out and she was allowed back in.</p>
<p>Why did she change her mind? She was initially put off by the current students she met at Harvard, who were either socially awkward or incredibly self-satisfied. And I think she saw that nothing is necessarily easy at Harvard–you have to work to get a good advisor or to comp for activities. She saw everything that is not great about Harvard and did not consider the benefits. When the dust settled, and she caught her breath (she was exhausted at the end of senior year), the benefits became much clearer to her. </p>
<p>I was glad she had to make her case to the admissions office because it helped her really figure out what she wanted. And she is thrilled to be joining the class of 2013.</p>
<p>taw, I’m really glad that your daughter was given a second chance and I hope that she’ll be happy with her final decision. I think that that was exceptionally lucky for her to be able to make her case.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter, taw317!</p>
<p>Taw, my D1 didn’t initially turn down Harvard, but she had to adjust her priorities to turn down an opportunity to be a music performance major in order to go there. She was beset by tremendous buyer’s remorse - “I’ve turned my back on my art” type of thoughts. Her experience at Harvard has been spectacular and she now can’t imagine how she could have ever wanted to go elsewhere. I wish your D the same experience and expect that she’ll be delighted with her change-of-heart.</p>
<p>Glad that things worked out for your D. I suspect that Harvard wanted to make sure that your D really wanted to go there, and wasn’t being pressured by, for instance, parents into doing something that her heart wasn’t in. For some accepted students, it can be a thoughtful choice to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>This is very nice. Looking back on it, I am realizing that Harvard might have been the only school I regret not applying to, having not considered Ivy Leagues. Good to know Harvard took her back.</p>
<p>Taw, I’m so glad things worked out for your daughter! Harvard really seems like such a great place (I’ll be a freshman in the fall!), I’m glad she could see that in time. I look forward to being her classmate!</p>
<p>thank you for the update, now my curiosity is satisfied :)</p>
<p>great to hear, congrats to her! :)</p>
<p>@ EHS09: wouldn’t it be weird if we happened to run into her there - and know it was someone we sort of knew through CC? ;-)</p>
<p>Why don’t you actually call and find out? You never really know. Good Luck!</p>
<p>taw317, First of all congrats to both you and your daughter. I want you to know that my DD also had a change of heart two years ago - she actually accepted the offer of admission to another college, replied electronically on decision day, and one hour later decided that she wanted to go to H instead. Needless to say, she had to call the other college to withdraw her acceptance, and then accepted the offer from H. In any case, she has not looked back - she loves where she is and could not see herself anywhere else. In fact, she has visited the other college during the infamous college football game, and commented that she is really glad that she ended up at H. Like your daughter, she was initially put-off by what she observed when she visited during the admitted students’ weekend.</p>
<p>MY friend turned down UPenn and then she had second thoughts… and called them and they let her go. So if your D called then it should be fine. but i know the waitlist is not now over… soooo…</p>