At DS’s school there are many applications to the Ginourmous Stats U, a local U of excellent regional reputation and a school that is one of the many that claim public Ivy status. DS was strongly encouraged to apply. He did apply to 2 but they are not his top choices at the moment. He also applied to an OOS big ten school that is highly regarded for his major. He is an outlier with his top 3 choices. I would be surprised if there are any other applicants from his school and, if there are, it is only because he or the GC clued someone else in that the school would be a good fit. I totally expect him to be the only one in his school’s colors on 5/1/16. There are many in his class that reach high and many that do not. The ones that reach high can get a bit over competitive about it so I avoid those conversations.
I have been lurking on this thread for a few weeks now, but thought it was time to say Congratulations to all of those with acceptances. We are not so patiently waiting for decisions!
I wanted to comment about the number of schools that D is applying to which is only 3! Occasionally, I get panicky about it, but we feel that she is well-matched and has applied EA and honors at all of them. She is definitely in the minority of her peer group. Many of her friends are applying to 10+ schools, many of them Ivies/high reaches so hence the need for a lot of apps. We are in one of the top school districts in our state (PA), where about 92% of students go to 2 or 4 year colleges (mostly 4 yr).
@LKnomad, @AsleepAtTheWheel, actually the Valedictorian was a URM (which doesn’t help with UC’s) and was an ESL student whose parents were immigrants. They ended up getting a full ride with spending money to another nearby top college. They were the only student that I have had that I did not predict correctly to get into UCLA.
Congratulations on all the good news! The list of acceptances is growing by pages.
DS16 attends an international school, and the applicants are spread across countries and continents. It isn’t uncommon for Europe, Asia and N. America to all be in the mix. DS is rather pedestrian with only Canadian and USA schools.
I feel that every student should be praised and accepted for their own personal strengths and gifts that they bring to this world. I always try so hard to find the good in everyone and also at not pigeon holing anyone. There is nothing wrong with community college or trade school or an in state school or oos school - it all depends on situation of that student. That being said, when others look at me like we are crazy (for allowing my D to even consider) applying and going to schools like UPenn, Duke, U Chicago, Stanford, Northwestern, WashU, etc. WashU gets the best of the weird looks because most in our area have never even heard of it and when we say that its in Missouri everyone thinks we are looney toons to be considering a school there. There is a great big wonderful world out there n we want our kids to be open to other people, places, things and ideas. We do not understand those peoples mentalities as we have traveled and visited St. and most of the other schools she is interested in and the St. Louis is a beautiful area and the people we have met are absolutely wonderful. In our area everyone goes to in state schools to save the money as well and they do not investigate the private schools with their merit scholarships etc. As a result we really do not speak about colleges or the college process to many outside our nuclear family and all you guys on this forum.
I feel very bad for the people who are having or have had GC issues. I had issues like that initially with my S14. His GC was god awful. So we learned really fast that a lot of the GC’s tend to blow off the students (whose parents are not on guard sort of speak) and as a result I now have a reputation that precedes me (as a bit of a stickler or maybe worse idk…sounds like witch…maybe?). So when my D came along, they figured it was easier to appease them (or more precisely me) then to have to deal with me standing firm for the right thing. My D’s GC is absolutely phenomenal (not just to her but to all his students) so she has not had any of the issues my S had (and my need to intervene has been drastically reduced). The majority of the GC in our high school dismiss or poo poo students. Some have told students awful put downs (“you will not get into that school”, etc.), it may be a true statement BUT you say in a way that gives a student a outlet to try if they want to try (something like “it may be a reach for you but if you really like it go for it” and help them with their application to highlight their best qualities for that school. Many of these kid’s parents are not able to help them and many of the GCs do not seem to want to put in the time. Its awful and I have witnessed it through a few of my D’s friends…so my D and I encourage and offer to help them!
@carolinamom2boys “I am so happy that I’ve found CC for support and info. I get truly excited every time I read an acceptance.” took the words right out of my mouth and echo my feelings exactly!
Welcome, @2filles!
My sentiments exactly, @carolinamom2boys and @lvmjac1, in both your posts above. (Several friends have kids at WashU and they love it!) Thank you both for expressing this idea of happiness in others’ success so well! There should be a term that means the opposite of schadenfreude…
My DD’s public school is very different from the most of public high schools and her experience during college application might be quite different. Her school counseling department sent out several e-mails asking students and parents not to talk too much about college application. They already talk too much and are stressed by the process. And many kids compare each other, which is not good in this case. DD talked about several kids obsessed with college and their behavior.
Last year (probably constant throughout years), 50-60% of students from DD’s school went to top 25 universities and LACs on USNR lists. So, my job is lowering my daughter’s expectation and reduce her stress during college application time. And I need to find out some good match school for her, which is not easy. It is vague between matches and reaches for her and many of her peers. In the end, every kids go to somewhere whether they like or not but the most of the cases, they will accept new environment and also like new places. So I don’t worry too much.
I am not sure whether the competition she went though is good or not, while I am grateful the education she received. I think her school provided one of the best education at public school can provide and I wish I had had similar high school education. Most of the teachers are exceptional and dedicated and she enjoyed a lot of her peers though she did not like many of them at the same time.
Its our turn to have LOC and guidance issues.
D turned in her forms (all do by Thanksgiving) for each college, listing who her LORs should be from. It covered 2 pages (only room for a few per page). Page 2 was taken care of the next day and Naviance and her CA were linked, LOR’s uploaded, Perfect. Page 1 schools were started and all had ‘pending’ as their status. No Naviance link, no LORs. Of course D is upset and I assure her that the secretary is busy, give it a week and if it hasn’t changed you can go see her. Fast forward, The secretary is sorry she lost the form, she’ll get right on it. D filled out a new form and everything is golden. Not. A few schools require 1 LOR from a math/science and 1 LOR from liberal arts teachers. The liberal arts teacher hasn’t submitted yet, so the secretary just sent 2 science teachers to these schools. Her answer was, ‘Well Mrs. X didn’t submit yet, so I just sent what I had’. According to her there is no way to retract them. At this point D is losing her cool and walks away. I spent an hour assuring her that a simple call from the guidance counselor will clear this up. That the schools won’t hold things beyond her control against her. Of course the GC is out today. I promised D that this really isn’t time sensitive, write her an email, she’ll check it over the weekend and all will once again be well with the world. The real issue is that these kids are sooo stressed, and so sleep deprived that one more blip on the radar puts them over the proverbial edge. My heart is breaking to see this normally unflappable kid so flustered. Of course she keeps a calm face to the world and falls apart for me. Isn’t it June yet?
I totally have had the thought of wow, I don’t want to wish this year away, but at the same time I cannot wait for it to be done with. I don’t want to rush him out the door by any means but the stress and ridiculous work load are getting very old.
@mugglemom I hope this gets worked out soon!
“I don’t want to rush him out the door by any means …”
Another mom here asked awhile ago if anyone’s child was (my words) exhibiting a kind of I’ll-soon-be-outta-here behavior that had the parents frustrated.
So, between the two comments from those parents, I have come up with the only fitting CC thread name for this daughter, Waiting2exit.
I cannot admit to being as close in sentiment to CAMidwestMom than to the other mom, however. Some days, anyway.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Ah @MuggleMom the stress is starting to mount. Semester finals and projects, plus three ED/EA decisions in the next two weeks are the current stressors. I’ve noticed the need for more hugs and back rubs in the last week. I’m happy to oblige because beyond that, I can’t provide much help.
@MuggleMom Sorry for the extra stress for your D. There are so many moving pieces to the college app process. It is hard enough to keep the straight without others doing things inappropriately.
@lvmjac1 As the parent of a WashU grad, I will confirm that it is a fabulous school and the people in the mid west are very friendly. I think it is awesome that you are allowing your DD to strive for WashU and other schools of a similar caliber. My DS has applied to WashU and my only hesitancy is to have him be 900 miles away. It is far, but it didn’t seem quite as troubling when DD went - partially because we still had DS at home. But DS has a different personality so I’m kind of torn. He has two other high reaches that he is considering applying to but I find myself not mentioning them when people ask - he does not either. They are long shots but so what? I considered WashU a long shot for my DD but it happened to work out for her. She was rejected or waitlisted from her other very high reaches. But she had several excellent schools that admitted her so she had options.
I have repeatedly told both my kids that there is no one perfect school for a person. The goal should be to apply to a group of schools where you think you could be happy (i.e. an academic and social fit) at any of them. Then things will sort themselves out over senior year. My DD’s high school friends went to a variety of schools - state flagships, Ivy, small LAC, tech oriented schools (GA Tech and RIT). All of them thrived and had great college experiences and 5 years later they are all doing well - some working, some in grad school, etc. I think the application process is the hardest part.
With EA schools posting results by next week, I am trying to come up with the strategy how to help my DD to deal with it if the results will not be as she wants them to be. My DH is no help, since one of her first choices is 3000 miles away and he doesn’t want his little girl be so far way.
@MuggleMom have your daughter contact the schools directly & explain what happened. She should ask if it is ok if the correct LOR be emailed directly to them from the appropriate teacher.
My S’s SCEA results come out supposedly on Thursday. We have the evening planned. We will go to one of three restaurants. We have an expensive favorite Brazilian restaurant that we go to for birthdays and important events. That would be for an admission. We have the other favorite but much cheaper Mongolian restaurant for a deferral. For a rejection, Outback. As long as my son gets to eat out, he will survive.
@MuggleMom I’m sorry to hear about the struggles. It is such a stressful time for our kids, and I imagine for the staff too. The GC likely had good intentions in sending that rec letter, but in her naivete didn’t realize that no school wants two science recs, not even MIT or Caltech. I have faith it will all work out.
@GoodGrief16 Thanks! I’m rooting for your daughter too!
@LKnomad We’ve never pursued the A-G route either as we prize flexibility in coursework, but S has fulfilled all of them (and then some) in spirit. Anecdotally–of his homeschooled friends who applied to UCs the last couple of years, two got into UCB, UCLA, and other campuses. Both were also invited to interview for Regents at Cal. Neither did A-G. One buddy is at Cal and loves it. He’s hoping S will join him there. The other chose a selective private school instead, and it’s a perfect fit for him. These kids are incredible students with high stats and strong profiles. The other kids in our circle who have graduated in the last couple of years did not apply to the UCs. They are either attending smaller private schools or going the community college route. Each one landed at exactly at the right place.
Although my S prefers smaller privates, UCB would be a great opportunity for a CS kid. His friend there will give him tips on landing a summer job at Google like he did. 
The big question mark is whether he’ll be admitted. He applied to EECS in the College of Engineering, which is arguably one of the toughest majors to enter. He could have applied to the College of L&S, which has a higher acceptance rate, and pursue a B.A. in Comp Sci. But he said no. He is an engineer through and through. So it’s all or nothing for him! [-O<
@happymochi Our delimna is the we are with a public charter which offers an A-G option. The UC site says that students at charter schools must fulfill A-G to qualify but I don’t know if this means charter homeschools. This would mean the he purposely chose to ignore requirements. But at this time, he does not seem like he is a kid that would have the grades for a top UC anyway. It may not matter in the end.
DD’s EA result will come out in the week of Dec. 14. Most of her friends got EA/ED result at that point and a lot of emotions will come through. I point out constantly the odd is low and do not worry about whole result. Anyway, hope whole process ends quickly.
@LKnomad Ah, thanks for the clarification. I didn’t realize UCs have that stipulation. We have a private school affidavit, so our path is a little different. A couple of our friends who were in a charter ended up going independent during high school because they felt pigeonholed. A couple of our other friends who stayed with their charter were content, but I’m not sure if their graduates applied to UCs. Some went to CCs, others took gap years, one went to a seminary. I’m sure your S’s path will be clearer as you walk it. 