Match Me - PA resident for English + History, PoliSci & Music. Classical vocalist spike. 3.6/33

We don’t have a college counselor. So I don’t know… Looking at what these honors colleges seem to be, in many instances, I’m not surprised she’s not being picked up. She’s an ivory tower thinker who isn’t as hands on - outside of government - as many of those programs seem to have as their focus. She’s truly sanguine at this point, after the cold water dash to the face of Yale, and just “playing the lottery and hoping to win.” We’ll see. Doing everything we can - like submitting the supplemental materials Emory just invited her to provide for theater and music - and hoping for the best. :slight_smile:

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Please keep us posted! Your DD24 is a lot like my DS25, so the suggestions here have been very helpful to me.

Someone probably mentioned this well upthread, but PITT Students can cross-register at CMU for 1 class a semester, so she may be able to be exposed to another group of musicians/vocalists there.

My DS23 is enjoying UMASS-Amherst and I have been quite impressed with it as a parent. It’s a well oiled machine and my son have anticipated at such a large school. Your DS can try again for the Honors College after 1st semester or at the end of first year. I’d consider a Residence Academic Program (RAP) as a freshman. It helps get you situated with a pod of like minded folks. UMASS has them organized around first year seminar courses. It really makes a big school small.
Good luck!

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That is VERY helpful information about Pitt - I didn’t know that actually, so thank you!! I don’t remember seeing that anywhere… so hmmm. Also great info about UMass. Thank you!!

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Cross Registration at Carnegie Mellon - The HUB - Division of Enrollment Services - Carnegie Mellon University)%20and%20home%20registrar%20signature.

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My S19 was a Pitt student and he was in the Jazz Ensemble at CMU both semesters freshman year. It’s a very easy process. Also, you should know a lot of music instructors teach lessons at both Pitt and CMU. Meaning, if she’s Pitt student she can take from CMU instructors at Pitt, under Pitt coursework. CMU also has the BXA program, it combines a course of study with a music/arts track. My S19 was accpeted to BXA piano/Biology. He did not end of at CMU as Pitt gave him a generious merit scholarship and CMU gave him zero. We are full-pay.
He ended up with a self-directed jazz minor at Pitt pretty much but he’s going to med school so that was his main focus. IF your D is really interested in the vocal performance part, I would choose CMU BXA. Warning, they do not give merit so expect the full-ticket price if you are full-pay.

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Has she checked out the Heinz Chapel Choir? They have an IG account. They are part of Pitt. I toured Heinz Chapel last fall, and it’s just dreamy!

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We wrote about it on essays! It looks amazing for her!!

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We did not … but she was fine with it, knowing it was a shot in the dark. I know that @NiceUnparticularMan 's son was deferred, so still pulling for him!

How are things going for you otherwise?

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Into her safeties with lots of decisions yet to come. Yale was good practice at accepting the “no” so each successive “no” is increasingly met with a “their loss” shrug. I think she is navigating a lot of existential nerves over the overall outcome, but I don’t think we’ll be settled until April unfortunately. We’ll see!

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You need to stop calling them safeties! Not in your head, not in the privacy of your shower, not in any way shape or form. They are all terrific institutions which want her as a student… Hooray!

It matters. Do your D a favor and start to shift the tone right now.

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Promise you - the conversations with her are all positive, and building enthusiasm around what she has. Visiting one in a few weeks for accepted students day, where a dear friend from camp will also be. We talk about loving who loves you, and not pining over (in schools or romantic partners) those who do not love you back. :slight_smile:

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I’ve been thinking of your daughter and wondering if there are any updates to her admission decisions. Hoping for lots of good news.

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We’ve had a good past few days - into Univ of Rochester, Conn College, and Skidmore with generous merit at all. She’s beaming. So them plus Pitt, College of Charleston, UMass Amherst, and F&M so far…she still wants a top tier, but is really grateful and happy with results so far.

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Those are wonderful schools - and a “rank” does you nothing the minute you step on campus. All these names will have wonderful opportunities if she pursues them.

Congrats to her - I hope you find the right school - and I know there are budget issues - so hopefully these are coming at the “right” price.

Congrats to her - she should be proud. That’s a great list!! I know many of us thought it was a reach heavy list given the GPA and lack of math so there are frankly, great gets on there.

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Congratulations on all the additional acceptances; I am so very happy for her! Your D has some terrific options to consider. Looking forward to hearing how she ends up deciding on a school.

It may be helpful at the end if you share the results from all schools and the amount of merit aid received, as it can be helpful for future potential applicants, especially since there had been so many questions earlier as to how your D’s application would be perceived.

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We will gladly provide an update with final outcomes, as well as more detail on our apps, in a few weeks’ time after all decisions are out.

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That is fantastic. And just to confirm, none of Skidmore, Conn or Rochester are safeties. She should be proud of those acceptances. You can go anywhere from those places.

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OK CC family. The last decisions have arrived and we went 7/30.
REA Yale - rejected
ED2 Vanderbilt - rejected
Rejected RD from the following:
Barnard, BU, Duke, Emory, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Univ of MD, Univ of Mich, Northeastern, Northwestern, Penn, Smith, Tufts, UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA, UWisc, Vassar, WashU, Wesleyan, William & Mary and Williams.

Accepted RD to:
College of Charleston - accepted with 6K merit scholarship (think for being OOS) - COA would be 52K
Pitt - accepted - Waitlisted for Honors College (turns out we applied afterall) - COA of about 39K but have not received FA letter yet.
UMass Amherst - Accepted with 16K Chancellors Award - COA would be 41K.
Franklin & Marshall - Accepted with 20K merit scholarship plus College Grant of 9K - total COA would be 53K
Connecticut College - Accepted with 30K Deans Scholarship - total COA would be 53K
Skidmore - Accepted with $47,185 College Grant. Total COA would be about 33K
Univ of Rochester - Received Prince Street Scholarship of 12K for being high achieving with creative talent in the arts - plus another 15500 grant. Total COA would be about 58K.

OK hivemind. Given what you know, what are your thoughts about fit for this young lady? We have 3 Universities and 4 colleges to compare (and are visiting nearly all this month). Here’s current thinking:

Pitt - largest, and possibly best english dept, with good music study opportunities through CMU, but also huge drawback in number of HS people who attend. Potential Honors College experience if gets in off waitlist. Con: this girls wants “away from PA” in the worst way but claims she’ll keep an open mind for when we visit in a few weeks.

Rochester - most perfect size (she thinks) - personalized admission note, which D24 appreciated - T30/40 for music majors/minors - T100 English department (doing deep dive on the offering and their descriptions, it was this former Penn Eng major’s favorite) - also good for International Relations and History, other areas of interest. Top ratings for Academics and Professors on Niche, which we care about. We know 2 people through friends of family who went and loved it. Biggest negative potentially is location, weather, and fact that they have SAD lamps available for students who need them. She’ll be a student who needs one, and it makes me nervous. May need monthly sunshine weekends planned, just to drink in some Vit D.

Univ of Mass Amherst - great school overall but went to admitted students day and the presentation from the English Dept made her cross it off her list immediately. Great food though!

Franklin & Marshall - my niece went and loved it as a business major - it’s highest rated school among them - T30ish LAC. It’s tiny tiny tiny. Closest to home, but has prestige. Eng major is most traditional/old school, very structured, but also very very limited with restrictions in choices and many mandatory classes.

Skidmore - most selective admission and quirky prestige points - has freeform creative feel - great for musical kids - not sure about location, and not sure if environment is more “vegan stoners” than “studying the classics” which is kind of more her vibe. Really open to be wowed, but just so not sure about this one. Eng Dept, where it is highest rated of lot, seemed unimpressive in terms of offerings, and writeups about those offerings seemed unsophisticated. Can’t tell if magic is inchoate in the air there, and not capable of being reduced to writing?

Connecticut College - good location, least remarkable on stats of all - head of music department reached out with lovely personal note and, when D24 was sick and had make up work to submit, Dean of Admissions sent personal and lovely note as well - both impressed D24. Less diverse than others on this list. Has cool “Connections” approach to curriculum, but not sure if it’s structured enough for my traditional girl.

College of Charleston - don’t know too much, but nervous about location and weather, which we selected for a sunshiney more relaxed college experience, and have heard without honors college, may not be a good academic experience. It’s 4/4 of the colleges at the moment.

Hit me with your thoughts, what you know that we might not about our Super Seven, and what your gut says about where she could thrive the most.

A heartfelt thank you to all who took time to comment, positively (and even negatively) because you all were part of this journey and helped us tremendously. Last night was a little rough, and she shed a few tears over what she feels sometimes is lost potential as some great gets were delivered to peers - she’s nervous she will feel “less than” in the eyes of her classmates (who she thinks see her as an “ivy or bust” kind of student), but, with a few exceptions, most of her peers are in the same boat with T20 schools largely out of reach this year. She keeps telling me she is genuinely happy to have these choices and knows she’ll find the one that feels “right” - so I"m believing her and just doing some research that can help guide her. This is my “keep driving!” at Oberlin girl, so I want backpocket stuff if I need it. Thanks everyone, @austennut and @MYOS1634 in particular.

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Congrats to your D- what great choices!

Remind me your financial constraints? I don’t want to start pounding the table on something that stretches the bank to the point of breaking…

Cool list of options!

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So, if I understand it - the list is already down to 6 with UMass Amherst off due to the English presentation. Your daughter can only go to one school, and UMass has the same disadvantages (like weather) of others in addition to a lackluster English presentation so it seems like a good one to eliminate.

From reading your post - it sounds like Rochester hits the majority of what your daughter is looking for. The weather issue is a real one, but you also have time to get supports in place for it (I’m giving kudos to Rochester for having SAD lamps available!).

Ultimately, though, the visits you have planned will help your daughter figure out what her most important priorities are. She only has good choices available, I can’t wait to hear where she will head off to!

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