Reading your post again, I do not think USC read, I think it was pure stats early, same with Clemson if she applied there. Can’t prove it, but I really believe this based on deferral rates and outcomes I’ve been told about.
1 Like
Agree. If this is something she is interested in - Id also add in Miami OH, a school that kids seem to fall in love with.
I know that UMD has an appeal process for denials, although you need to add in additional information. Is there anything to add?
Best wishes for your daughter. I agree that USC is likely to come through, but the wait seems endless…
2 Likes
That was not my impression but perhaps @AlnwickM can clarify this.
I’m happy to hear your daughter has one acceptance. While it’s not a top choice, surely there were some good reasons she applied there.
Good news is she has a place to land. That’s the most important thing - and she applied to alternatives for a reason. Hopefully one likes where they apply but she still did apply.
U of SC isn’t out of the question yet. So still can happen.
And again, there are other flagships available (WVU, Alabama, etc) and in the end, a flagship is a flagship. There are many solid business schools out there including Culverhouse at Bama - just to throw a flagship that is still taking apps. Someone mentioned Miami - Farmer also great and as opposed to Bama, merit isn’t based on test score. You can apply til Feb 1. If she applied to U of SC and wants to be that way, how about College of Charleston or Coastal Carolina. or a UNC Wilmington.
The other thing is and it’s interesting because the subject came up from a California parent. They feel the really talented kids are being denied a place because the UC system is so impacted. Yet they have tons of schools. I do think there’s so much grade inflation out there that there are so many “top” kids - and families under estimate the level of competition, etc. because everyone is “tops.”
Like CA, Maryland has a ton of great schools - from UMBC, Towson, Salisbury, Frostburg, and more. If she needs in state tuition, that’s a route to go. Kids should have to be accepting and not think it’s all or none.
She can get a great education and job from anywhere.
This isn’t going to define her - that’s for sure.
Best of luck
1 Like
It’s not that TO is “hindering”. It’s that a kid in rural North Dakota who is TO probably couldn’t find a test center within a reasonable commuting distance- so applying TO won’t be “held against her”. But a kid from a competitive HS in Maryland who is TO isn’t holding back the scores because she couldn’t find a test center- it’s likely that the scores aren’t at the median. So it’s just harder to gain admissions from a populous state with high quality schools (which isn’t news, just ask the kid from Wyoming at Stanford or the kid from Montana at Princeton).
8 Likes
I’m so glad that your D does have one acceptance. I agree with the other poster to try to get her excited about that option just in case she doesn’t have any RD admissions.
I think TO is getting to be a harder sell the further we move from Covid unless your student fills an institutional priority. IMO, that’s why schools are staying TO - to give themselves more flexibility in creating the class they want. But, coming from a highly competitive district, I think going TO is a disadvantage, especially if her peers submitted.
And while there are no quotas per se, universities are looking for diversity in their class and do want representation from all over the state and country.
If your D isn’t happy with the school where she was admitted, I’d have her send out some other applications ASAP.
10 Likes
I completely agree. I believe competitive/selective schools use TO to attract kids who might not otherwise apply to their school. It’s not meant to give a pass to kids from a school/region where almost everyone is submitting test scores.
6 Likes
Absolutely agree, I oversimplified in my post, hindering some.
1 Like
My S24 went to TO, and after a lot of studying of data and professional help, we steered clear of all public schools. In my opinion, there are too many applications to large state schools, and going TO creates an issue and gets you in the wrong pile to begin with.
I also studied the CDS to see the percentage of TO admitted.
Now, are there students admitted TO at the large publics - absolutely - but I think those are niche kids. A perfect example is a poster on CC, who is a first-generation student from the Midwest who went TO and got into Michigan and UNC. But would a student from suburban Maryland with presumably college educated parents? Much more of an uphill battle.
But there are still gobs of schools still accepting applications. My son got 4 emails from George Mason yesterday!
7 Likes
I think it’s the “optional” that confuses people.
Colleges have an “optional” extra essay. Colleges “suggest” four years of English, social studies, math, lab science but your kid wants to double up on foreign language and music and ignore bio and chem. “Suggest” and “optional” do NOT mean-- “just ignore us and do whatever you want”. It means you can go ahead and apply; your application will be read and evaluated in context. Your HS doesn’t have chem? Oh, ok, you can’t take what they don’t offer. But they offer three levels of chem but you decided not to take? Different story.
13 Likes
I think your analysis of TO is spot on. I do know a couple of kids that went TO and were successful at a competitive school (Villanova) but they came from a rigorous catholic prep high school and went ED.
6 Likes
I am more familiar with NC State, but with her stats App State, UNC-W, UNC-Charlotte, NC State in some majors could be good options. I think she has good news coming though!
3 Likes
To avoid this thread going off topic, I’ve created a new thread to discuss what TO really means.
Please join the conversation there.
11 Likes
The thing is - today many less are going to college and yet these “name” colleges have more apps than ever.
They are using TO to market their competitiveness - more apps = lower acceptance rate, equal people see them as more prestigious.
This - and rampant grade inflation in HS - has created a situation where many accomplished kids aren’t getting a bite at the apple - because “everyone” and I’m over simplifying - is accomplished.
6 Likes
100 percent!
1 Like
I think another piece that hasn’t been brought up yet is that you were comparing your son’s results to your daughter’s. It is easier for boys to be admitted to many schools as there are relatively fewer boy applications (overall). Schools want to maintain gender parity in their numbers…the only schools where a girl may have relatively better odds are technical schools (Caltech, WPI, Rose Hulman, etc).
For the most part, unless they are fulfilling an institutional need, girls face a slightly higher uphill climb to admission. There are just way more girls than boys applying to college.
12 Likes
One thing for certain is that it has raised the anxiety level-the juniors who will hear this OP’s story will be more nervous than ever and apply to yet more schools since the process is so unpredictable.
1 Like
A broken process for a broken system.
2 Likes