<p>Another thought just came to mind. Compare the two schools’ core curriculum requirements. I read here recently that CalTech requires a high number of physics and math courses of all students. Check the website for the specifics. I don’t recall exactly what the poster said, but it was a large number. Stanford’s requirements are quite flexible, and there aren’t as many. For some students, the difference would be something to take into account.</p>
<p>[Rejected</a> by Stanford? You’ll live - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://articles.latimes.com/2007/mar/30/opinion/oe-shaw30]Rejected”>Rejected by Stanford? You'll live)
OP, this is an article written a few years ago by the Stanford dean of admissions. Let your son read it - it might make him feel better…
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<p>ClassicRockerDad: My wife totally agrees with your response. But then we are dealing with a seventeen year old.</p>
<p>2blue: You are absolutely right about the Caltech core. It is supposed to be brutal (5 terms of math and physics, 2 of chemistry and 1 of biology) and that is one of things he needs to explore and be comfortable with. He is under no illusion that Caltech will be a cakewalk. One of the things I have read about Caltech is a lot of very bright kids who excel in their school come there and suddenly find that they not only are not on the top of the heap, but the others are as if not more hardworking then themselves. I am told it can be a humbling experience.</p>
<p>“One concern of his is if the career opportunities and placements will be better at Stanford.” </p>
<p>That should not be a factor. Placement should be excellent from either school.</p>
<p>Yes, Cal Tech will have really tough academics. Most of the top engineering schools do. But your son likely wanted that if he applied. (I do understand your concerns. I have similar concerns myself regarding my own gung ho son’s desire to attend other tough schools. I’m trying to have faith is is up to the task. Good luck!)</p>
<p>The easiest thing would be to walk away from the WL and move on. But OP’s son seem to be having a hard time walking away from Stanford. I also don’t think it’s a case where OP’s son was accepted at Cornell, but wait listed at Northwestern (or vice versa). The question is if he was accepted to both Caltech and Stanford, which one would he go? If it’s Stanford, then why wouldn’t he actively pursue to get off the wait list. I am not familiar with Stanford’s practice in getting off the wait list, but for any other schools our private school’s GCs are very proactive in getting students off WL. It is a lot more than just sending in the post card.</p>
<p>My image of CalTech is colored by Richard Feynman’s autobiography. He left Cornell for CalTech and then didn’t like the smog and wanted to go back to Cornell until he realized that CalTech had a higher concentration of smart people and Nobel Prize winners than any other real estate in the world. He said just walking across the quad was an adventure.</p>
<p>Kids who think Stanford has something over CalTech really don’t know very much. </p>
<p>That doesn’t mean an individual kid mightn’t prefer Stanford his his/her own reasons, but they shouldn’t include any idea that Stanford is more prestigious, a better education or turns out more employable people.</p>
<p>From what you’ve said, it sounds like your son would be a good fit for CalTech. If he gets off the waitlist and prefers Stanford then because the prospect makes him happier, you’ll know soon enough then.</p>
<p>The reality is, of course, that most kids don’t get off waitlists.</p>
<p>In this case, the happy reality is that your son already loves the school that has accepted him.</p>
<p>I think given these facts, any way the situation is handled will yield good results.</p>
<p>OP- I would love to know where you live… a place where Stanford has more cachet than Caltech? Sounds like an alternative universe to me!!</p>
<p>Unless he is ambivalent about his possible major and thinking that he might want Comparative Literature or Renaissance History (in which case he should stay on Stanford’s waitlist and accept one of the less preferred schools where he’s been admitted so he can study those) I cannot see what good will come of dragging out the process.</p>
<p>Maybe this is him telling you that he’s not sure of his intended focus on the sciences? Maybe he wants you to encourage him to attend a place where he won’t be committing to the notoriously difficult Caltech requirements??? In which case, I think the decision discussions are misplaced- you should be encouraging him to rethink the other schools on the list that he’s rejecting-- rather than focusing on the one school in the mix where he hasn’t been accepted.</p>
<p>^^^^Good points, and good advice I think.</p>
<p>Two contrasting waitlist tales.</p>
<p>My S was wait-listed by two elite LACs, and accepted by a couple of equally-elite LACs as well as an Ivy and the U of C. H and I thought he should accept a place on the waitlists, just to keep his options open. He did so, but made no effort to present himself as a candidate beyond sending back the postcard. (In our case, comparing FA was a big factor.) In retrospect, he was completely ready to move on from the waitlisting schools, one of which I had basically forced him to apply to, having been accepted to several schools that he strongly preferred, and we probably should have gone with his feeling on the subject. But it was no big deal for him or us, since he had mentally crossed them off his list and never gave them another moment’s thought.</p>
<p>A friend’s kid was rejected at her reach, waitlisted at one of her favorite schools (a school that I would have thought was a match but was in fact probably a low reach), and accepted to a couple of her safety/matches. She was NOT happy with her choices, and REALLY wanted to get into the WL school. Happily, she was accepted to the WL school in May. She is now attending the school that waitlisted her, and I doubt that the fact that she got in off the wait list ever crosses her mind!</p>
<p>The moral of the story being that it all depends on the kid’s choices.</p>
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<p>Wow…where did he get the idea that CalTech is inferior to Stanford and that CalTech won’t be able to provide him with all of the opportunities he wants? Unless he is talking about good Division 1 sports and a better male/female ratio on campus (which favors Stanford), he’ll most likely have more chances of doing research, etc. at CalTech than at Stanford. </p>
<p>If grad school is your aim, CalTech has a great reputation for successful graduate students.</p>
<p>From a Stanford student who got in off the wait list last year, I think you should go with Caltech and never look back, don’t bother with the Stanford wait list. This is not because I am disgruntled with Stanford, in fact I can’t think of any other school I would rather be at. I am telling you this because your son has Caltech written all over him. I am sure he would be happy a Stanford and he would defiantly people with similar interests here, but he would be with his people at Caltech. The reason I tell you to skip the wait list is if you happen to get in it seems like a waist of time to visit Stanford just to say no to it.</p>
<p>Actually, if finances are not an issue, there is only one relevent question in this situation.</p>
<p>What does your son want to do? </p>
<p>There’s your answer.</p>
<p>I agree with Poet.</p>
<p>Our DD racked and stacked her list. Of course her number 1 was the last to come in, but as each higher level came in the mail she would immediately send back the lower level decline card. </p>
<p>I think this is more of a parents issue and less of the child. The OP stated that CalTech was it for him the minute he saw it. Children change, our DS wanted nothing, but Notre Dame for 2 yrs of hs, when time rolled around, ND was on the bottom of his list because he fell in love with other schools more.</p>
<p>My parents did something like this to me, and in the end I felt pressured to go to where they thought I should consider more. I hated every minute of it, so much so, I pushed myself to graduate with a dual undergrad in 3 yrs on merit scholarship. </p>
<p>Ask him, if he is ambivalent about Stanford, than there’s your answer.</p>
<p>As others have stated there are many parents holding their crying/depressed child today because they got the Thanks, but no thanks letter to their number 1. Be glad that you aren’t in that position.</p>
<p>mazewanderer, here are some things to consider. First, Caltech is about to modify its core requirements to make them less brutal and a bit more flexible. Second, Stanford is extremely attractive to so many students because it involves no compromises of any kind: it has superior academics across the board, a superb reputation worldwide both within and outside of academia, weather that many consider ideal and that promotes a healthy lifestyle, and maximum diversity amongst the student body. It has tremendous research opportunities across a huge array of disciplines. Caltech has amazing academics and research in hard sciences and math, but not so much in other areas. It’s pretty tiny, not very diverse (Caltech doesn’t engage in affirmative action, unlike most other top colleges, about which opinions vary) and it has a lopsided male-female ratio, though it is getter better. And though Caltech is known for its stellar science education within the academic world, it is for some reason not as well known as it should be outside of academia. These are probably the main reasons your s may assess Stanford as having relatively more cachet than Caltech. In any case, there is really no downside to joining a waitlist to keep his options open, is there? The benefit of having “closure” about such a big decision should be balanced against the value of not having to second-guess that decision, or wonder “what if”, especially if he hasn’t fully investigated both options. They are both great options. JHMO.</p>
<p>Why make a decision now that you don’t have to make? Let the emotion drain out a bit and decide later on. So, accept the wait list and forget about it for now. After all, tomorrow is another day.</p>
<p>My advice would be:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Visit Caltech. He visited it 2 years ago- that is a long time ago. He needs to see it now, carefully, and make sure he likes it.</p></li>
<li><p>Get on the Stanford waitlist but do not visit Stanford yet. Unless the $ cost of getting on the waitlist is a significant factor. If Stanford admits him, go and visit it. and then make the decision.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>ETA: Just noticed you already planned to do 1. and you have a high EFC (which probably means the cost of getting on the waitlist is not a factor). I don’t see the downside of getting on the waitlist.</p>
<p>I think he OP’s son should prepare for another battle if Stanford takes him off the waiting list. It’s not easy to walk away from Caltech once you attend the Prefrosh weekend.</p>
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<p>I am not sure his concern is valid.</p>
<p>See here: [Caltech</a> Undergraduate Admissions: Employment](<a href=“http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/after/employment]Caltech”>http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/after/employment)</p>
<p>If it is agony to be on the WL then by all means move on and don’t look back. On the other hand, if it is possible to get on the WL and plan on Caltech then it is worthwhile. I think of getting off of the WL as being similar to winning the lottery. You can’t win if you don’t buy into it but you don’t go into it expecting to win.</p>
<p>coolweather: </p>
<p>Thanks for the link, I found this very interesting </p>
<p>*The average starting salary for Caltech’s Class of 2008 was $71,000. According to an August 2008 Wall Street Journal article, Caltech graduates enjoy the highest starting salaries of any college or university in the country.
*</p>