i apologize for my bluntness! i think i am still fully in “it’s okay, you didn’t want to go there anyways” mode from the last few weeks, but i didn’t mean to come off so rudely
a couple of updates! we asked for an advocacy call and my mom went a little rogue and went ahead to ask the friends’ parents anyway (one of whom it turns out is an associate professor at hms?). they wrote a very strong, lovely letter that made my mom cry, and even if it doesn’t move the needle i don’t regret it just because i think it is nice for him to hear how highly his friends’ parents think of him. LOCI is in-progress; hoping to have it done by the end of the week.
my mom and him are off to see carleton this weekend and emory next weekend 
a little disappointed to not get to tag along, but alas, i have schoolwork to prioritize. i think he has a massive case of senioritis, which is driving my mom a bit batty (and me a little by extension; thinking of calling him like “dude if you want to get off these waitlists you have to at least maintain your grades and not lose points on stupid things like homework completion”).
on my end, i “comped” a club this semester that was somewhat competitive and made it in, which means i get to do fun initiation traditions that i am so so excited for! also being indecisive about course selection, but that’s a problem for the me in a couple of days.
10 Likes
visit to carleton down and they are currently in atlanta for admitted students festivities! he liked carleton more than he was expecting to–i guess the other case students in the class he sat in on had too much of a geeky feel (it was an engineering class to be fair) and he liked the vibe of carleton. oxford he also liked a lot–my mom said all the students seemed happy and the weather was gorgeous. they both noted how isolated it was from atlanta, and i guess some of the students said the teaching quality can vary a lot while carleton is consistently excellent (#1 undergraduate teaching, bay-bee!). he’s heard oxford is pretty tough/grade deflate-y and my mom said he has been asking a lot of questions about whether i think he will be able to handle the academic demands of college in general. the three of us talked over the phone and tried to encourage him. i only hope he doesn’t choose based on his perception of not being able to handle a harder school, because i truly believe he is capable as long as he works hard and is really self-aware of how his adhd symptoms can be obstacles + finds strategies to compensate for them.
oxford/emory and carleton are his top two. i’m honestly a little surprised that emory wasn’t dead first, but also a little smug (privately) that i was right about it being a good fit for him. my dad’s been a little bit like “hey maybe we should go with a cheaper option” but i think that ship has sailed, and i did tell my mother very sternly when she suggested that it could be a group decision rather than solely his decision and that very few schools (i.e. maybe? not the ones he’s choosing between?) are worth full price the way harvard is that she told him cost isn’t a constraint and that it wouldn’t be fair to suddenly change her mind about what she’s willing to pay two weeks before decision day. that being said, she likes carleton and she likes emory, so that might have just been an offhand thing.
on my end, it sure is horrifying living at the forefront of history in the making! the mood on campus is a bit terrified, but also maybe the most united we’ve been in years (i say as a freshman who’s only been here one year). my roommate who i adore is from an islamist country in the SWANA reason and was already planning to seek asylum on religious/LGBTQ grounds, and i have other friends who are international who don’t want to return home for similar reasons. happy to answer questions here or in dms for anyone who is curious about how this is impacting campus
9 Likes
oh! also! got my admissions file back, happy to answer any questions about it. i was surprised by the significance of my letters of rec, which seem to have pushed me over the edge. also, my one B- in multivariable calc wasn’t even mentioned in the notes (i was told it was a “hole in my application” by a former AO)
11 Likes
In my experience of reading about people getting their admissions file, there is a pretty consistent theme of highly selective colleges caring way more about the personal side of things than people often expect, and less about various perceived imperfections. So I am not all that surprised at what you found (and for the record, it is not easy standing out personally).
Anyway, I’ve mentioned before my whole family really liked Carleton. Even though my S24 eventually chose WashU, it was close. Which is really quite similar to Emory versus Carleton, so I will be interested to see what happens!
5 Likes
i remember! it was actually part of my original selling point to my mom about carleton (“i remember someone on CC who nearly chose carleton over washu [my brother’s ED school]”) it sounds like he favors emory but isn’t ready to commit, so i really think it could go any direction
2 Likes
It is such an interesting choice at this point!
As a parent who now will say things like, “You are choosing a school, so you should probably choose based on which college is the best at being a school,” I have a real bias in favor of LACs generally, and then academicky LACs like Carleton even more so.
But then I remember, wait, you kids are in fact choosing the whole college experience, with academics being part of it, but not all of it.
And then I do think some kids just have a greater comfort level with a better-known university. Not entirely irrationally, like I think a lot of otherwise fairly sophisticated working professionals have very little familiarity with LACs. I think the top LACs and their graduates know how to get around that issue, but the factual premise is not inaccurate.
In that sense, it is actually a testament to what they have to offer that an LAC like Carleton, which my S24 literally had no idea existed when we started, and none of his close friends even applied to, could actually make his final two. And then I know from our visit that there are some kids who are just thrilled and will in fact make Carleton their choice. So they don’t really need all these kids to think that way, just enough.
Anyway, kinda rambling, but this does feel familiar to me. And I truly believe he can’t make a wrong decision.
3 Likes
he committed to emory a few weeks ago! sorry for being MIA–there’s been a lot going on in my personal life.
14 Likes
Great news.
Hope all is well.
2 Likes
t-minus one month to move in! i know my mom has become a dedicated lurker of the harvard waitlist thread, so hi mom if you happen to be seeing this. b25 and i are currently recovering from wisdom teeth extractions, and i’m starting to help b27 with his list. he’s interested in engineering and doesn’t mind going cross-country, so we are planning to start visits much earlier for him since flying will be involved. so far his criteria are “strong engineering program (likely mechanical or nuclear), opportunities to play ultimate frisbee, a rock climbing gym near campus that meets a particular challenge level, and some kind of marching or pep band,” which has definitely meant a different type of research than i’m used to, haha!
5 Likes
Boulder and Mines both come to mind. Hope you’re planning a trip to Colorado!
2 Likes
unfortunately colorado was one of several states he nixed for being “in the middle of nowhere” and “too cold.” i may recommend he reconsider, but for now we’re going to tour olin, bu and/or umass amherst, and wpi to get a sense of how he feels about location (urbanwise) and size and hope that helps us eliminate schools we’d otherwise have to fly to. was hoping to squeeze in a ga tech tour after we move B25 in (students will be on campus by then) but we’re waiting to see if tours are able to be booked before changing flights. he’s actually really interested in ga tech right now (strong frisbee team and proximity to B25 a plus) and though i don’t have a great sense of campus culture for a lot of these engineering schools, on paper it seems like a great fit for him so i’m hoping we get him down there sometime.
3 Likes