Super Congrats to all receiving great news. Hugs, FroYo, ice cream, donuts or whatever works for those receiving deferrals! For some the road may be completed - Yeah, and for many others there is still a long road to go… :-SS
@Themommymommy thank you!!
First of all, CONGRATS to everyone with good news today! Love to hear that things are going well with so many people. For those with not-so-good news, hang in there; have faith 
Around here, another day … another set of results! S got deferred at MIT and accepted to Boston College’s Honors Program. We remain as optimistic as ever and believe he will end up where he is meant to be
GO TEAM!
So… if I’d known ya’ll had raised such stellar kids, I would have tried harder to sound fancy on here!! 
Seriously, big round of hugs and high-fives for the latest good news. I’m so happy for you all!
We are still enjoying the long and winding route to college acceptances. D doesn’t want to check the portal for her Northeastern decision until finals are over. UGH! She has always been strong-willed and independent, which I usually love but sometimes…
@kittymom1102 DD also got deferred from MIT today. She got into her safety school Santa Clara University yesterday. We will hear about merit awards in a week or so. This concludes our EA results. Had a lot of tears and ice cream tonight. She got over Caltech deferral in an hour. This one really painful. She gave me all items she collected with MIT logo and asked me to give them away.
So excited for all who are accepted early to any school that they have on their list…so hopeful for any who are deferred and have to wait the extra months for a decision…but my heart goes out to those with rejections already in this process…may everyone land on their feet in this crazy process and find a real home in the college they eventually matriculate to!!!
S did not apply to any huge reaches in these early rounds…but definitely concerned about a couple he should hear from shortly that required a lot of “interest”. S did not realize that level of “interest” was a deciding factor, and is definitely very worried now! He should hear in the next few days from two of those…one in particular is heavy on the “interest” and S (and his mom) did not connect the dots on that until it was too late!
At some point this process is TOO much for even the best of students and their somewhat knowledgeable parents! Happy for those who are getting good news…but also feeling brain dead from the process, and at some point feeling way less than hopeful! Does anyone else feel this way?
@Ballerina016 Sorry to hear that 
Admission season is just starting. We don’t know what RD will bring. She should focus on her RD applications.
Stay optimistic. Best vibes to her and you
@Ballerina016 a deferral from MIT and Caltech is not a negative…they are beyond selective! The fact that she has stats that keep her in consideration for RD is amazing since both schools are lottery schools and who knows how they select from all those really high stats kids!
Yes, @4kids2graduate , count me in on “feeling brain dead from the process, and at some point feeling way less than hopeful.” Right now we’re just looking to get through finals week #:-S
@4kids2graduate : Oh no, you have to have hope. And it’s not because you close your eyes and wish it to be so, but because your child has done the ground work, and the footwork, and the homework to make it all so.
I think we all miss a few things when left to our own, but that is why this board has been valuable, because sometimes you “hear” a little bit of something that seems you never would have known if you hadn’t signed on here that day. Even when we’re trying hard not to miss anything, we may be straining our eyes for looking so hard.
Hang in there, 4kids.
@4kids2graduate we looked up statistics at both schools. Only 10% of deferred students get accepted. And you have to do something extraordinary in the next couple of month to get to accepted pile. So we treat deferral as a polite rejection just to be realistic.
Congrats to all who had such wonderful news and hugs and plenty of ice cream to those with less happy tidings received for the moment.
I sat down next to DD tonight and thought she was working on her supplemental scholarship essay for what was once her clear number one choice. She has a full tuition offer and the app is for full ride, which is a longshot. I realized that instead she was actually going through the school’s catalog and list of majors trying to find a fit for what she wants since she has backed off of her original major. She was really struggling and grasping at things, looking quietly frustrated. It almost felt like a reverse grieving process because it was her number one for so long and feels like it is being supplanted by one or two other schools that are really better fits for her in a lot of ways. She fell in love with school number one during a summer career explorations camp there, but really she fell in love with the Medical Center associated with the school as it was a health careers exploration program.
She has five acceptances and waiting on her final three this week, but one of the schools that was once considered a safety is now rising really fast. She has an automatic full ride waiting there if she moves from NMSF to NMF as anticipated when the finalists are announced and had an incredible visit there a few weeks ago. I find all of the schools on her list to be excellent choices, but the NMF school is really starting to stand out to her and the entire family. I gently reminded her that since she wants med school she can go to the NMF school, be pretty much done now with the whole essay writing and scholarship wrangling process, enjoy her undergrad there in a great program and apply to former number one school’s med school down the road, leading back to that Medical Center that she is so fond of.
No decision yet and certainly none needed, but this whole process has truly been a trip down many unexpected and surprising roads, with plenty more sure to come. (-:
@Ballerina016 : So sorry to know that your child is hurting. I hope the ice cream helps.
@Ballerina016 I did not realize the amount of deferred students that get accepted could be that low…I didn’t even realize there was a way to access those stats. I do understand that you are trying to be realistic! Can this process be over already? These poor students…their senior year is being kidnapped!
How in the world will I ever get my Christmas cards addressed with all of you sharing such interesting news?!? All I want to do is haunt the Parents of 2016 Thread.
Hooray, @cakeisgreat, @fretfulmother (fret no more!), @missbwith2boys (despite your other frustrations), @GoodGrief16, @petrichor11, @carlson2, @kittymom1102 (+ a scoop of ice cream alongside the congratulations).
Two scoops of ice cream to @Waiting2exhale, @Ballerina016, and a sprinkling of hope to everyone who needs it out there.
Welcome, @rdeyus!
@fretfulmother, @goodgrief, @carlson2 congratulations to your kids.
@petrichor11, congratulations to your S also.
@palm715, I am really eager for your daughter to check that darn portal, lol!
@Ballerina016, I am sad to hear that she was so very disappointed. I say just put the MIT gear out of sight for now, because I really think the spring round will bring good news (and tough decisions, as she chooses) for her. She’s obvious exceptional. It’s got to be really tough being part of the California pool. When you shared that there were 640,000 in your district alone, I was struck by the difficulty of standing out in that crowd. Her accomplishments to date are incredible, and she has big things ahead. So very stressful when you can’t see where the road is leading quite yet though. I completely understand your wanting to keep your expectations low. I do the very same thing…I am always expecting the worst case scenario.
@4kids2graduate, I learned about “interest” way late in D13’s round. She definitely showed little interest, because she likes to be courted, not to court! She didn’t even set up the portals. I do think it impacted her to an extent. In our case, as I have mentioned ad nauseum, visits are unrealistic, generally, because of our geographic isolation. I made sure D16 got her portals set up though, and I will encourage her to communicate with the admission counselors via e mail and do any online meetings that are offered. Whether it really helps, I don’t know, but I figure it can’t hurt. And any additional information gleaned in the process is a good thing.
@skates76, the NMF school sounds really attractive. Wouldn’t that be great if it became her favorite? We have a full ride NMF school on the list, and D16 has been accepted, but she is not excited about the location in theory. She’s never actually been there though, and I really need to figure out a way to make that happen.
[quote= @4kids2graduate At some point this process is TOO much for even the best of students and their somewhat knowledgeable parents! Happy for those who are getting good news…but also feeling brain dead from the process, and at some point feeling way less than hopeful! Does anyone else feel this way?
[/quote]
Yes. This. I think S hit this point awhile ago, and I certainly have. The school he should be hearing from tomorrow has been on his list at number one for so long we’ve really lost perspective. Statistically he should be a contender, but at a lottery school what does that even mean? Not a lot. I know many here are/have been in that frustrating position of knowing your child would fit, would do well…but it’s also about how many other kids would as well, so there’s no way to know, and your head explodes on a daily basis just trying to figure out if you need to be encouraging, if you need to offer perspective, or if you just need to buy a lot of Moose Tracks Vanilla. And then it’s hard to be excited when good news does come in.
Whomever said “stolen their senior year” nailed it for all these kids on a certain level, I think. And I’m thrilled to have y’all to come to, because you get it in a way none of my “real” people do. What did people do before the internet?!
Virtual hot fudge sundaes to everyone nursing a bruised ego. It is really hard to see\hear such accomplished kids suffer. It really will serve them well later in life but I wish the lesson were less painful to learn. I would not get rid of any school gear yet. The RD round may be kind. Try to get them (and you) to focus elsewhere for a while.
Try to make this a special holiday season at your house. You may not be able to put the school of their dreams under the tree, but you can make some great memories.
Also, go ahead and set up your FAFSA IDs before the January rush. There is yet more information to be gathered and shared but thank heavens our kids do not have to write, rewrite, or make sure it is “in their voice”!