Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
11201

<p>Thanks for posting everyone - I am finding these lists very interesting. All the thought that went into choosing the schools, then the results that range from rejection to acceptance with tons of money for the same kid. And wow, what an amazing bunch of kids you all have!</p>

<p>There is a thread going right now from a kid who applied to about 5 ivies and several other near-ivies, and has been rejected from all but one & is still waiting to hear from that one (Johns Hopkins). Someone gave this poor kid some bad advice!</p>

11202

<p>I haven’t posted here in a long, long time, but have been lurking along and have vicariously celebrated and commiserated with all of you during these past weeks. And I am thinking of Apollo as well…</p>

<p>DS (mech eng, NMF, B+ student with strong test scores, full IB so lots of rigor, FL resident) stands at 8-0-3:</p>

<p>Accepted:
UF plus Honors
UCF plus Honors with NMF full ride
WPI with NMF $20K plus a bit of need based aid
Rochester with 14K merit (potentially more for NMF) plus work study
Stony Brook with 3K merit
Virginia Tech plus Honors, loans only
RIT with $17K merit
Pitt, loans only</p>

<p>Waitlisted:
Case (after EA deferral)
Northeastern (after EA deferral)
Lehigh (this one stung a bit…)</p>

<p>He also applied to Queens in Ontario (he’s a dual citizen), for Engineering. A couple weeks ago we got a very nice, regretful email saying that because he’s had no physics in 11th or 12th grades…took Honors Physics in 10th the school doesn’t offer IB physics and no schedule room for AP physics…he doesn’t meet their baseline requirements. We appealed, citing test scores which they’re big on, enlisted an EE prof from Queens who’s an old friend of DH to look into it more for us, but it looks like a no. They did say that if he took a course over the summer and/or presented scores from SAT 2 physics they’d reconsider but with no promises. There was a certain amount of woulda, coulda, shoulda in our house when we heard…about DE/online opportunities not explored, paths not taken…but thankfully DS wasn’t that bothered by it.</p>

<p>In the meantime we made the roadtrip to Gainesville for a Engg accepted students day and DS was much more impressed this time around…we had done the admissions tour a century ago it seems. He said that he could see himself there and there was a lot to like about the program. It’s a vast, rah rah D1 school and I never really saw my clever, introverted, geeky boy there but the Engg folks gave me a lot of confidence that he’d find his tribe. Then when we arrived home in the wee hours there was the email with the Honors acceptance! </p>

<p>WPI is still his top choice…has been all along…but with a net cost to us of ~35K vs 17K for UF, and with 2 more kids in the queue (one a HS soph, one in elementary), the financial argument for UF with no debt is starting to look more and more compelling. He also liked URoc a lot but net cost there will be higher than WPI.</p>

<p>So I’ll take a ticket for SS Indecision, but with the option to switch to deck hand (so long as there’s a well-stocked crew mess! :)</p>

11203

<p>Hello all, I’m sort-a new to the site, but have been hearing about it from the person at the other end of the dinner table for a long time.
Since the SS Indecision is well underway (and my fruity drink with ridiculously long straw is on order), here’s the killer question: close to home or far away? Personally I did both, and each has its merits.</p>

<p>Close to home is so familiar - the culture and weather are the same, so much is familiar that adjustment is easy. Plus with the parents close by, coming home for a little support (and food and cheap laundry) is nice.</p>

<p>Far away is new, and new can be really good. New culture, new lifestyles, new perspective on life. Plus, the security blanket is gone - time to grow up and take care of your own stuff. Then again, the HS friends are all so far away - the social network that kept you happy is missing, and it can be hard to find a new one. </p>

<p>So, what advice do you give your kid?</p>

11204

<p>How exciting to see the final tallies and the general giddiness. I am struck also by how many different paths to success there are (both here and on the official acceptance lists, hint hint <a href=“https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZxUwgbCqcCpq4L_2L4lAhqcKQAN0AyGHDAjf1rDX9rI/edit”>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZxUwgbCqcCpq4L_2L4lAhqcKQAN0AyGHDAjf1rDX9rI/edit&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>I was a bit distracted by taking a day off yesterday to head to the UMCP open house – hooray, my S is finally engaged in the decision process. Also, have been commiserating with some non-CC friends who got bad or frustrating news on lottery day.</p>

<p>Here’s our final tally, in rough order of decreasing selectivity.
Rejected:
Cornell ED</p>

<p>Accepted:
RPI (14k, might ask for more)
Northeastern (30k)
UMCP (5k)
RIT (18k)
UMBC (15k)
Hampshire (15k)
Drexel (19.5k)
UNH (6k)
UMaine (15k)</p>

<p>As I hear about kids who either had only reaches or only reaches and safeties they aren’t crazy about, kids who didn’t apply to the right college within a university, and kids whose application payments were never received I feel better about being so involved in my S’s process. He tells me he doesn’t know how he could have done it on his own. I tell him that I’ll help get him set up but then we expect him to go it alone (unless he really needs our help with bureaucracy). He fully understands and feels good about that. So we are in a good place all around.</p>

11205

<p>@crowlady, I agree. This process requires execution of so many details and decisions along the way. I feel bad for those students going alone and making mistakes effecting the outcomes. Congrats to your S’ acceptances.</p>

11206

<p>@TitanAPBioTchr Really depends on the family and the kid. What feels right?</p>

<p>Personally, I think going away is better for most kids. But for some kids, close is definitely the way to go. I know families whose kids really want to stay close because of much younger sibs or who need more parental support due to special challenges. In one case of the latter the extra few close years helped their D blossom so she got herself into a faraway grad school and is now thriving. Of course finances are often a consideration, too.</p>

<p>I don’t know anybody who doesn’t want to leave their high school network. With FaceBook it isn’t like they have to lose touch anyway. If the school is big enough they won’t lean on that network much anyway from what I hear.</p>

<p>I’ve told my S that the college next door, while fine for him, might be too close for me to stay out of his business. The one that is 45 minutes away might be easier to maintain separation. He tells me that he’d like to sample another part of the country, and maybe eventually come home to raise kids here (!). </p>

11207

<p>I haven’t posted or stopped by in a while since DD14 was accepted ED1 to Vandy … but I saw Apollos post last night and I’m so sad. I can’t wrap my head around it.</p>

<p>We’re in the middle of college tours for DD15 this week … totally different schools for a totally different kid. We’ve visited Belmont, U of Oklahoma & University of Colorado Denver. Lots to process.</p>

<p>Congrats to all the good news and lots of hugs to the not so good news.</p>

11208

<p>

Titan - I recommend that both schools be visited if possible for their respective accepted student’s day function. Only then will there be a better or stronger feeling of “FIT” at one of the schools. That’s what its all about, a comfortable feeling for the student. Both of ours opted to be out of state as they wanted to broaden their horizons and not be with the same 50 kids they went to HS with. That is not to say they are abandoning their HS core group, its just that they will stay friends with them but the college experience will open new windows and introduce them to new friends and experiences. I was planning to give you the pros and cons but it now sounds like I am selling away from home and in retrospect, I guess I am. Good luck with your child’s decision. You have 32 more days. Welcome aboard next Tuesday on sailing day.</p>

11209

<p>We will most definitely be sailing on the USS Indecision until at least mid-April. Spygirl ended the season with
a 4-2-1 record. Her major at this point is physics.</p>

<p>Accepted
Oregon State University (3.5K)
Whitman (9K)
Occidental (15.5K)
Gonzaga (21K)</p>

<p>Waitlisted
UChicago
Boston College</p>

<p>Redirected
Stanford</p>

<p>Her top choices are Oxy and Gonzaga. She’s having a tough time choosing between them, although she is asking Oxy for more money to make it affordable. Hopefully a trip to Oxy next month will help solidify her decision.</p>

11210

<p>^ I don’t think that Stanford should even count as a rejection or redirection. At least that’s what I tell my S. It’s as close to an auto reject as anyone can get.</p>

11211

<p>I encouraged mine to explore a new area of the country that interested her. She can always come home but this is a great time of life to go out there and spread your wings.</p>

<p>I’m also in the camp of helping my kids through this process. Considering the $ at stake, and their future, why would I now leave it up to them to manage this difficult process? Now the college work itself is on them, but I don’t think finding appropriate schools, keeping up with deadlines and figuring out other like schools or safeties is really hovering all that much.</p>

11212

<p>@triton - My D applied to only one nearby school; an in-state safety that she really likes, but is practically in our backyard. She has been “over HS” for two years now (she is often described as very mature and an “old soul” by teachers and others). So, the drawback of close for her is a possible continuation of HS. Initially, she considered schools in the 10-15 hour away range. After further consideration (rethinking weather, travel expenses, health issues, etc), she limited her list to the 6-10 hour range. </p>

<p>Personally, I think 4-8 hours is ideal. Far enough from home, but within a day’s drive. Having gone 1/2 way across the country to school myself, I thought the distance was a pain. Not to mention the additional costs involved in air travel, especially if either one’s home or school (or both) aren’t near a major airport. Other downsides (unless $ is no object) include storage costs, shipping, inability to readily switch out seasonal clothes, inability of parents to attend parents’ weekend or get to student in an emergency, limited ability for student to come home (I came home only once or twice a year), etc. A big mitigating factor to distance is having other family or close friends nearby the school. Ultimately, the decision really depends on your child and the circumstances.</p>

11213

<p>My recent posts have been in other forums but I have been following along here. My deepest condolences to Apollo6; I am stunned and saddened by the loss of your precious son. This journey has been put into its proper perspective for me. Having said that, I am sharing in the joys and disappointments that you are all experiencing with your kids right now. I will go ahead and add DS’s results here. He applied EA everywhere so he has known for awhile. His planned major is either mechanical or civil engineering.</p>

<p>Temple COE- Honors + President’s Scholar (full tuition + 3 $4K stipends)
Northeastern COE - Honors + Dean’s Scholarship + generous grant
Drexel COE - Honors + A.J. Drexel Sholarship + grant
UMass COE - Honors + Chancellor’s Scholarship
U of Delaware COE - Honors + U of Delaware Scholarship + university grant
U of Maryland College Park SOE - Scholars + President’s Scholarship
Rutgers SOE - (no Honors) Rutgers Scarlet Scholarship + Dean 's Scholarship + grant
Villanova COE - (no Honors) generous grant</p>

<p>Northeastern and Villanova might be doable with loans; the others, despite merit awards, would require much bigger loans, to which we say nay. The trouble is that we fear that the generous grants from NEU and VU will go away when our daughter graduates from college in 2 years and we won’t be able to make up the difference. Really, Rutgers and Temple are the safest options. As a NJ resident, S isn’t thrilled with Rutgers proximity to home and Temple, though ABET accredited, is slightly less prestigios, which matters to him now (although I have assured him that he won’t care what his high school friends think by next year). I do feel badly that I allowed him to apply to all of these schools that are now out of reach. I honestly thought that he’d get more merit $. I knew that this class was competitive but sheesh! He did buy a sweatshirt at Temple’s admitted students day last week and the stipends for study abroad and/or research are enticing to him, as is graduating DEBT FREE! So that’s promising. And he likes everything about Rutgers except its location. So I guess I’ll be the weepy drunk stumbling off the SS Indecision last, when I am sure that he is happy with his decision.</p>

11214

<p>DS’s stats: 4.2 GPA;<br>
SAT: 760 M 670 CR 670 W (1430/2100)
SAT II M 800; Chem 760;<br>
5’s on all AP’s incl Calc BC + Chem;
currently taking Physics C, Diff Eq, Calc 3, AP Comp Sci;
great ECs, Recs, etc…
Maybe we overreached but I honestly didn’t think so…</p>

11215

<p>It took me about an hour to read all the post in the last 24hrs - such great news about acceptances and now it is indecision time - Captain I am ready to board! I will like to order a Mango Tango Martini please! </p>

<p>My son has been in a funk all week. I think it is the stress of graduating HS and thinking about college. He decided yesterday that he really did not want to do Spring sailing - he said it was too stressful- I said fine - No big deal…but I am really surprised because he loves sailing…My H thinks it will be good for S just to focus on finishing HS and figuring out where he wants to go to school.</p>

<p>S found out today that he WL at UROC - he was disappointed - although we never visited - he thought it looked like a good fit and was looking forward to seeing the school. I don’t think he will join the WL but I will leave it up to him.</p>

<p>The final tally is 6 acceptances, 2 WL and 2 redirected.</p>

<p>The final 4 (for now) are:
Brandeis (mid yr)- cost after FA about 31K (annualized)
UVM Honors College- cost after FA/scholarship about 21K (very happy and surprised by the amt of FA)
Mulhenberg - cost after FA/scholarship about 18.5 K
Wheaton (MA) cost after FA/scholarship about 22 K </p>

<p>All the above $$ include est. misc. expenses.</p>

<p>We have never been to Mulhenberg but it is suppose to have a very good Neuroscience program. We will visit all of them and then S will decide…It is going to be a long month…</p>

<p>Oh I almost forgot - BarnardMom - I wish “they” could trade - my nephew found out yesterday that he was wait listed at Michigan- that brings the WL total to 5 ! He does have some good choices though …</p>

11216

<p>@NewHavenCTMom - WOW!! Congratulations on D’s fabulous acceptances!</p>

11217

<p>S14 has apparently hit his limit- “Can we not talk about college anymore this weekend?” Absolutely young man. Time to take a break from it. </p>

11218

<p>Final decision arrived for DS14 via snail mail today… thankfully ending on an up note with a “yes” from Haverford.</p>

<p>Summary:
25 schools/campuses visited; 12 applications (5 EA, 1 ED, 6 RD)</p>

<p>Safeties:
Purdue Accepted. (no merit/full pay)
Case Western. Accepted ($25k per year merit scholarship)
Centre. Accepted. ($21k per year merit scholarship)
Tulane. Accepted. (full tuition and fees merit scholarship)</p>

<p>Match/Low Reach:
Michigan. Deferred, then Accepted. (engineering) (no merit/full pay OOS)
Haverford Accepted (no merit/full pay)
Wash U Waitlisted</p>

<p>Reach:
Rice: Rejected
Columbia: Rejected
Dartmouth: Rejected
Penn: Rejected
Duke (ED): Rejected </p>

<p>expect to be visiting NOLA a lot…ticket not punched, but definitely in line to purchase.</p>

<p>Congrats to all those with soft landings; probably will see you all on-board serving the drinks and snacks.</p>

11219

<p>@vandyeyes --</p>

<p>25 campus visits? Wow. I hope your son realizes what incredible and dedicated parents he has. And congrats on the full ride to Tulane. That’s wonderful.</p>

11220

<p>Being one of the one-and-done crowd - I have not posted much but I have been reading along. I am grateful that my state (VA) has so many great options and that my sons liked WM and saw the benefits of doing ED.</p>

<p>I too was hit hard by Apollo6’s post and I too talked to my S about it and got a “don’t worry mom…” answer.</p>

<p>I wanted to Congratulate every one on their hard work and their kids hard work and accomplishments! Seems like most everyone has some great options and/or decisions!</p>

<p>I came across these two short articles in the Atlantic today and thought about the thread somewhere that asks would you (the parent) get into your college today…For me the answer is “No Way I would get into Berkeley today!” I think the same would be true for Lincoln’s son and maybe even Kennedy!</p>

<p><a href=“Stressed About College Admissions? At Least You're Not Lincoln's Kid - The Atlantic”>Stressed About College Admissions? At Least You're Not Lincoln's Kid - The Atlantic;

<p><a href=“JFK's Very Revealing Harvard Application Essay - The Atlantic”>JFK's Very Revealing Harvard Application Essay - The Atlantic;