<p>I saw this on another post. It shows a pattern at many school, re the WL.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05167/522674.stm[/url]”>http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05167/522674.stm</a></p>
<p>While I think andison does need to start making alternate plans, I wouldn’t give up completely just yet.</p>
<p>I agree with the suggestion that andison’s guidance counsellor call Swat (as well as his other waitlist schools) and basically say straight out, “I got an amazingly exceptional kid here, who by some inexplicable fluke of the admissions process, does not have a college to go to next year. I would really like you to take a second look. Your school would be LUCKY to have a kid like this.”</p>
<p>All these adcoms realize what a crap shoot a lot of this is, and would definitely sympathize. No, they’re not going let any kid in because they feel sorry for him. But they may let a highly qualified kid in because they are a little empathetic. </p>
<p>At this point, there is no downside in being straightforward about this: It’s a guidance counsellor’s job to get a kid into a college, and andison’s gc didn’t do that so he’s just got to keep trying.</p>
<p>Soozievt I did greatly appreciate your advice about informing Swat admissions of andison’s situation. Letting them know that he didn’t have any acceptances anywhere was- for lack of a better word- scary! I didn’t know if they’d be understanding or see him as some kind of loser and feel like ‘why would we want him if no one else does?’ Also, at the time I was still hanging onto an illusion of hope and a sense of disbelief that this could have happened at all. </p>
<p>momofwildchild Oberlin closed a month ago.</p>
<p>coureur you’re thinking of nopoisonivy’s s. He’s graciously given me a lot of info about his amazing s’s situation. </p>
<p>interesteddad as you know we obviously think Swat would be a great fit for andison. But I have to say that the admissions office was less than ‘available’ to him. Right from the start of the wait list they were NEVER available to talk to him and rarely responded even to his e-mails and that’s for a kid who sent in seven additional recommendations from all walks of life- including a Swat grad who had worked in the admissions office at one time- music tapes, links to a web site that featured him etc etc. Yes I know this should have been done half a year ago- but it must have been obvious to them that he was working his tush off to get off the list. If they took one kid off the list, who posted here on cc, then I can’t believe there weren’t more. I’m sort of wondering why they even bothered to wl him.</p>
<p>I’m sure it’s beyond the ridiculous to have the GC give the ‘not in anywhere’ sell NOW but some schools (Harvard for instance) accept wl kids for the following year. That could make his gap year feel like it was truly something for him and not to make some admissions person like him better. Maybe it’s time for the head GC to strike up a conversation with Swat- I mean they accepted three kids from our hs who ALL turned them down and then they didn’t take the one who WOULD have gone there.</p>
<p>Personally I think the ‘not in anywhere’ sell could work. Especially since you really don’t have anything to lose. I would have the head GC call and good luck. (They also might look at spring admission – a lot of schools seem to do that for slightly less qualified or qualified in a different way admits).</p>
<p>We’ve got our answer here. Just got an e-mail back from the head GC.<br>
This was the response from the admissions office- or wait - could it have been the Registry of Motor Vehicles???</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>To this I say: Thanks, but no thanks!!!</p>
<p>Andi,</p>
<p>I was also disappointed to hear the end result of this phase of andison’s college journey. It may be helpful for your son to put a little distance between himself and the ap process, at least for the summer. I had a friend who suffered similar disappointment in med school applications. He suffered rejection upon rejection and then finally got accepted last minute from a waitlist. Unfortunately, by that point, the process had so beaten him down that he wound up falling into depression and flunking out. Later on, healed, he returned to school and is now a successful cardiologist.</p>
<p>My point is that the gap year may be helpful to clear his head. I’m sure he’ll approach it differently this time. A few rolling admission safety acceptances, perhaps an EA and a good mix of RD school acceptances will help bolster his self esteem and have him start school in '06 with a great attitude. I know I join all the others by wishing you & andison great success in the class of 2010!</p>
<p>Have the GC call Harvard. Swat HAS turned into the DMV!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes. I assume that they took more than one off the waitlist. However, all of the various websites where prospects and accepted students post seemed to be unusually quiet on the waitlist movement front this year. Andison’s phone call from Hillary and the timing of the first waitlist update both indicated that initial yield may be been high.</p>
<p>We will know for sure when the 2005-2006 Common Data Set info is released next fall as that contains the exact number accepted from the waitlist.</p>
<p>audiophile thanks for sharing that story. I’m actually concerned about that happening, even though andison is by nature a buoyant personality. Going through all these rejections and then being rejected again after such effort is enough to drag anyone down. I’m not even going to tell him about this last e-mail. I mean talk about feeling like a non-entity. Sheesh!!</p>
<p>Some of the large schools in particular like BU which has a good honors program
seem to be telling students to re-apply for Spring. Why dont you look into that as an option?</p>
<p>Here’s the webpage with the current instructions for “reactivating” an application.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions/reactivate.html[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions/reactivate.html</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>They waitlisted him, along with hundreds of others, because:</p>
<p>a) They thought he was a good, qualified applicant</p>
<p>b) they didn’t know how many slots would be available after the initial yield, what type of slots they might need to fill (race/ethnicity, male/female, pay/financial aid, athletics, piano, etc.), or which kids would accept an offer off the waitlist.</p>
<p>The thing that is so hard about trying to analyze who got accepted is that there is very often “more to the story”.</p>
<p>Andi, while it does not matter now, I only brought up my past advice to you because you were considering using it NOW and my point was to have done it when the waitlist was still being utilized (I know we do not yet know the extent to which they used it but they used it, it seems). Now, the class is filled. The idea behind my point to you a month ago is that there was nothing to lose. Schools do not know when you keep your waitlist status active, IF you truly WILL enroll if taken off the list. By doing what I advised, you were saying (along with a call from his GC) that he has multiple waitlists and no school and that he WOULD enroll with a check as soon as they gave the word as this was his first choice. I also advised putting a lot of energy into the other waitlists which were at schools I presume he was truly interested in if he applied in the first place. I would have played the odds and not focused solely on Swat in the waitlist because you do not know how deep they will go tohe waitlist at any school. I cannot tell from your posts if your son actively pursued his waitlist status at the other schools. I do not think he needed seven recs. Perhaps one additional rec that spoke to something different than the other ones sent with the app would have been appropriate. The call from the GC explaining his situation and that he WOULD enroll because he had no school, was important at THAT juncture, not now. I know this had to be soooooo difficult but I do not think Swat did anything wrong and it is just the situation here. You’d have to have gone all out as I had advised and even then there was no guarantee. </p>
<p>Ideally, every every single waitlist your son had would have been pursued with active updates, etc. My advise for next year is to have a more balanced list, and to get some advice from a college counselor on how your son was packaged in his applications. I have a feeling if he does something very cool and worthwihle this GAP year, it is going to enhance his application. I would not focus on ONE school but on liking many. </p>
<p>I think at this point, I would really put oodles of energy into planning an exciting GAP year that when he looks back on it in the future, he will recall fondly as the best thing he ever did. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>This is a tough situation, but since various people are weighing in with their personal opinions, I’ll add mine, for what it’s worth. Soozievt has, in my opinion, clearly nailed down the situation as it stands now. The time to have pulled out all the stops is when a student is first put on a wait list, not after it closes. Doesn’t that make sense? Closed means ‘closed’ - to everyone. What any of us can do with a disappointing situation is learn from it and move on. It sounds to me like people are advising that you not accept the finality of this year’s admissions decisions. If you follow that logic, when will you accept it? August? September 30th? New Year’s? </p>
<p>Andison has been given an extraordinary gift, if you care to see it that way. No one doubts that he will be accepted by a very good college and have loads of opportunities. In fact, he has an opportunity right now - he gets to choose how to live his life for the next school year (it’s really not that long a period of time) and during that time put together a college list and set things in place for the following year and find ways to nurture his talents and interests now. What I fear is that the circumstances that led up to this result will repeat themselves if the lessons to be found here are not taken to heart. Look beyond the disappointment for a moment and try to move on. You know the old saying, “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”? There’s an implied choice in there. </p>
<p>I think andi has handled this very well. I feel like I’m splashing a bucket of cold water on well intentioned suggestions. I guess I’m a realist and I think it’s time to accept what is and get to work making the most of this opportunity.</p>
<p>Dear Andi:
I agree with Susan in that focusing on Swat’s mysterious wait list in recent weeks made me nervous for you since they (I believe) are the number one in selectivity stats in LACs this year…although I can totally understand that Swat is a great fit for your son. But Swat is a place where the waiting list looks a lot like the admitted list…so the odds are always dicey. There is nothing wrong with passionate pursuit of a top choice…sometimes that is what it takes and sometimes being single-minded works. I love and respect Swat, encouraged my S to apply and have a dear friend on faculty, but next season, renew giving weight to slightly less difficult in admission schools, and stay “emotionally open” and ready to attach to three or four schools, keeping in mind that getting into a school less selective than Swat can also have premium results in life, friendship circles and academic paths. I know it is hard to truly attach to more than a couple prospective colleges, and I don’t think it is realistic for our kids to be able to visualize themselves in six locations with equal zest. We are only human and subject to attachments that are emotional and based on important and personalized intangibles. But we always spoke of my son’s match/safeties with great respect, praise, and made a point of visiting kids we knew who were happy at his safety schools and I think he would have been positive with building a life at any of them. We truly understood that he could be rejected at all of his reaches. The normal safety match list from the Boston area for a boy with your son’s breadth is just a bit High Test, and I am sure we would have probably prepared a list very similar to yours if we lived in such a sophisticated corridor. However, expand…next year. Your son will stand on his own feet and stand out anywhere that meets your criteria…but keep in mind that many of the top thirty-fifty plus or so schools provide excellence and teachers are eager for students like andison, and there are schools that have a shortage of really musical players. Have you considered reversing the geography factor for instance and had him look at a school in a southern state? Many fine schools in the South want kids from New England and the faculty is particularly eager to have them in the classrooms. (Vanderbilt, University of Virginia, University of Richmond, Davidson, Rice (?maybe you already applied there due to Shepherd?), Wm and Mary. I had an undergrad experience where I was sort of one of the geographic diversity factors in a student body and this really has its up side, believe me. Teachers eager to meet kids from other regions of the USA. May I get behind Vanderbilt for a moment…selectivity there dropped to 30% this year and the boys my S met were from Chicago, New England, Atlanta and Alabama, the kids split on the Presidential election and the student body is no longer debutante and southern based…and Nashville itself has a wonderful melting pot ambiance and the Blair School of Music is superb. They are building a new Symphony Hall in Nashville smack on the Cumberland River and there is a big audience for classical in town. We adored our eight years in Nashville. Despite this “expand your list advice” re selectivity from me…I harbor the belief that your son’s Gap year will actually clinch a school admission that is going to thrill you. And mainly I just wish you the second wind you need to make the transitions with your fine son…</p>
<p>There are always kids who drop out over the summer, get mono, decide to take time off, etc. There are always kids coming in and out of a school. My freshman year there was a kid on my hall whose roommate never showed up.</p>
<p>Unless an applicant has been given a “courtesy” waitlist (like an alumni/connected kid without qualifications for admission) WL indicates complete viability to be a student in the school. I do not see what harm would come from a polite letter from Andison to Swat letting them know his situation, and explaining that, while he is moving forward with a gap year plan, he would appreciate their consideration for any unexpected openings that may crop up, or even a second semester admission should that become available. I see this as more of a “don’t worry, I would not be withdrawing from another college to accept a WL place; I am uncommitted” note, not a begging note.</p>
<p>I agree with Susan’s timing opinion, and I am somewhat suspicious of the abilities of andison’s GC office. </p>
<p>However, I really don’t see the harm in playing this last card-- then letting it go. </p>
<p>I do not think anyone on any selective school’s adcom would be surprised to learn that there are fluke situations where kids wind up like andison. To me it does not connote anything other than a top-heavy list and some simple bad luck. I doubt this info would make Swat second-guess whatever they liked about andison originally.</p>
<p>Just MHO.</p>
<p>Hi Andi,</p>
<p>I just checked my sent messages box and realized I must not have successfully sent you the message I thought I’d PM’ed yesterday. Basically I was dittoing what SBmom writes above, to go forward to make one more contact with Swarthmore, but from a position of strength. “Yes, we are taking steps to plan a special gap year, but in case something unexpectedly happens, know we are still interested.” I think I would not have this come from the school at this point, but from your DS. No harm done, I think, though I do worry a bit about the fact that the admissions folks not having been too warm and friendly. Don’t want you guys to experience any more pain from this.</p>
<p>Blessings!</p>
<p>Andi - you have all our sympathies - regardless of what happened, or who did what, your son and your whole family has had to pay the price. I cannot resist the urge to give advice, I’m sorry, I apologize, I’m made that way.
- He should have a safety, a rolling admissions safety, U Mich, Uni of Indiana, maybe SMU (are they rolling?) any of these should do nicely, I know Uof I and SMU have excellent music, Mich probably does, they are sort of good at everything.
- Follow Faline’s advice, get out of that NE corridor - he is proof that despite everything done right, everything can go wrong. He needs to look beyond the schools where “everone” goes, at least for 1 or 2 of his choices.
- Get yourself a good paid counselor. If, I hope not, I hope it was just bad luck, if there is something wrong in his application, you need to know, that needs to be rectified, if at all possible.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you and your son - he will have a good outcome, and someday will appreciate the blessed gift of time.</p>
<p>
I’m not saying they did anything wrong. I’m just saying that we didn’t find the adcoms to be all that friendly or interested. They were more like I would have expected from a large university. But maybe that’s just how they have to be to wait listed students. </p>
<p>
I gotta say that every time I hear someone say this I get a knot in my stomach. Andison was sitting in an armchair this afternoon with pencil and paper, jotting down ideas for a gap year. What he wrote I don’t know. I do know two things 1) Whatever he does I want it to be for him and NOT to please some admissions officer and 2) It’s going to be something on an extremely low budget!!! </p>
<p>
cangel no need for apologies!! I’ve got two names of paid counselors and I’ll be giving them a call tomorrow morning. Andison deserves a fresh start with advisors more competent than his GC and his mom. And his mom needs to get her life back. Time to call the pros.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think that adcoms have to maintain distance from all applicants. After all, they are going to ultimately admit just 1 out of 4, which means 3 out of 4 will be unhappy. For each call from Andison, they were probably fielding the same call from a hundred other kids on the waiting list…or, even worse, from the kids’ parents. I suspect that adcoms quickly learn the less said, the better.</p>
<p>I would say that Swarthmore’s admissions office was mid-pack. Not as friendly as a couple of the southern schools; certainly not the kind of Swiss-clock efficiency of Emory’s response system (amazing). But, a heck of a lot better than several schools which couldn’t even manage to produce a blank application form despite repeated requests.</p>
<p>Andi, Lets see if we can help you loosen that knot, not tangle it more. Between today, lets say July 1 and December 31 when those applications go in the mail (or November 15 if ED is under consideration) your son has 6 months to fill up with an activity that is both rewarding and fun for him and interesting and attractive to an Adcom. Lets also assume that if the activity fulfills the first requirement, the second will follow. Yes, he should do what HE wants to do not what he thinks would impress an Adcom; however, it seems hes not settled on what he wants.</p>
<p>So. . . hes going to Tanglewood this summer, right? Thats perfect. Not sure how long that program will last, but try to string it out until the end of August. That leaves four months. I understand that hell still have another open 8 months from January to September; just leave that alone for now. Concentrate on September to January.</p>
<p>As I see it there are three general streams to follow in a Gap Year: arts, community service, physically active (sports/adventure). Pick one or two and either find something to do for four months or two events for two months each. In spite of financial difficulties, I would strongly suggest travel. This is not a sightseeing trip. This is an investment. He can earn it back in the 8 months that are open on the rear end of the Gap. </p>
<p>Id pick a country region of interest and then start asking questions about whats available. In most countries two months would cost about $6,000. Sure, its scary to go off on your own (especially when you feel like hibernating) but trust me, if he gains foreign experience and in some off the beaten track place it will be rewarding, fun, interesting and attractive to an Adcom.</p>
<p>You should start a new thread focusing on these four months. Since music seems to be your son’s raison d’etre, an idea would be for him to select a musical instrument or tradition in a foreign culture and go off and master it. </p>
<p>Andi, I think all this discussion about if and when your son should have told all to the Swarthmore Adcom is counterproductive. My personal opinion is that it wouldnt have mattered and that your initial analysis was correct. For any and no reason (as my coop board used to say) they made a decision and they stuck by that decision. Let it go. </p>
<p>Id also recommend that you talk to Dave Berry of CC. Hes a wonderful communicator and very insightful. (He should give you a discount for keeping this board in suspenders;) )</p>