Congrats @dyiu13, @momofzag, @palm715, @4kids2graduate, and @cakeisgreat!!! Great news today.
Congratulations to those with happy admission news, and ice cream flavor of choice to those with deferrals mixed in. (And libation of choice to the adults supporting them allā¦)
And cupcakes for everybody, handmade and decorated from scratch. Just because.
@petrichor11 Yes! Red velvet cupcakes!
@fretfulmother - we are about 4 hours away. Not too bad. Instate is about $6K cheaper. Iām sitting up reading all about the residences, the major, etc. Ha! I am loving it so far.
Super Congrats to all receiving great newsā¦hugs, tissues, ice cream (or froyo in our house) cupcakes definitely for all those contending with deferrals (or worse). The initial sting is wearing off my Dās Northeastern deferral and now its just that taboo subject that if you attempt to mention, she starts talking over you and says that we do not speak about it. LOL.
Another milestone crossed off the listā¦D completed and submitted the last of her 15 applications! I am looking for the Baileyās to add to my coffee in celebration of the end of an era and to deal with the waiting! D has one scholarship application that is due in early February but she will start it at some point over the holiday break. So glad that part of the process is over. Now its only the waitingā¦have I mentioned that I am not a patient personā¦so this is torture for meā¦I would imagine it is for D as well but she seems to be handling it better than I am. We have thrown ourselves into holiday baking to compensateā¦it has been nice today just enjoying holiday pursuits without wondering what is the next step in the application process!
Wow we are past 10,000 posts!
The son of a good friend of ours is a sophomore at Case Western, and he absolutely loves it there. Am glad to read about all of the acceptances.
@cakeisgreat ā We might both have kids in Amherst, MA next year. If so, weāll have to try and rendezvous.
Did someone say libations? Iām so thereā¦
Packing tonight to head back āhomeā - my home, where DS was born and lived the first 9 years of his life. Iād planned to drive, but bad weather hitting at just the wrong time made me reconsider that, so weāre flying out tomorrow instead. I was looking forward to a road trip with S, who is quietly, tactfully gleeful that the 10-12 hour trip is now down to under 2. 
If nothing else goes his way on the college front between now and March, heās still fine. He knows he will be going to college. I think weāre both ready to have these past couple of weeks behind us, though - to get out of dodge and just relax. Hardly anyone weāll see knows about EA, ED, RD, etc. - theyāll all just assume that heāll make some decision in the spring.
I tried to go back and capture everyoneās news - joys and disappointments - but wow - the threadās been busy. My thoughts are with all of yāall, though, and the kids. Maybe cupcakes for everyone, just because. For everyone whoāll be traveling over the next couple of weeks, stay safe.
@fretfulmother Yes!
Just read this article on another part of CC: http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2015/12/its-going-to-be-okay.html. Written by the director of admissions from Tulane, it just helps put things in perspective now that the dust is settling for the most part after the first round.
Great article @2filles . Perfect read for students and parents.
I think itās very hard not to take these deferrals or rejections personally. Thatās typically what we do, but the reality is itās not all about us. We unfortunately are all pieces in a bigger puzzle, and our unique shapes may not fit together to complete the picture. Personally, you couldnāt pay me enough to be an admissions counselor. Think about the interactions that many of your children have had with the counselors then multiply that by thousands. I think it would be very hard to make these decisions once that student becomes a person and not just an application.
I was wondering, for those of you who have kids going into an Honors program or scholarship with a GPA requirement, what is it? Have you weighed it against a scholarship or program with a lower GPA requirement due to any concerns about maintaining said GPA?
We got one yesterday that has a 3.5 requirement. Itās not at a super competitive school, but itās specific to the honors program. My S is one who has struggled a bit with the intensity and grind of high school. He has kept up the 4.0 average, but I want him to enjoy college and yes, do well, but Iām not sure that type of pressure would be good for him.
Just curious about anyoneās thoughts on this and if itās factoring in to the decisions.
@CAMidwestMom My son and I have been having this discussion recently. Heās applied to 3 honors colleges, one of which actually has 2 tiers with the highest tier requiring a 3.8 to remain in the program. If he doesnāt maintain a 3.8 , as long as he maintains 3.5 , he will still be in their " regular" honors program. The other 3 schools range from 3.2 to 3.4 to remain in the program. Of course he wants the most restrictive program which has caused a lot of discussion in our house. Part of me secretly hopes that he doesnāt qualify for that program. What I did find out that we didnāt know, is many programs will give you a probationary period before just dismissing you from the program, and some will reinstate you once you get your grades back up if you request them to reassess you. I think for most , this can only happen up until your sophomore year because of curriculum requirements for the program. You may want to check requirements for each of your choices to help in the decision process.
Thanks @carolinamom2boys! I definitely will be making a call, or having him call, to find out about the probation. My brotherās scholarship did have probation, my older daughterās didnāt, but you were able to earn it back. However, if this scholarship would be lost, it would be a huge deal to suddenly have to pay the full amount. I doubt he will pick this place. Right now, there is a comparable offer at a better school with no such requirement. Iām just doing my Mom thing and covering the bases!!
@CAMidwestMom We also have to worry about GPA for the state funded scholarship he has earned which is worth $ 6800-10,000 per year based on his major and enhancements for STEM majors. Most of his schools also offer additional funds for this scholarship, so maintaining his GPA is imperative. My friendās sonās GF lost hers when her GPA dropped to 2.95 when the requirement was 3.0. With those scholarships, once itās gone, itās gone forever . 
Advice needed here please - my DSās friend, who is brilliant but quiet, has now been deferred everywhere he applied. Since he attends my school, and I know who wrote his recs, I suspect they may not be as glowing as would be both fair and appropriate. However, I have no direct knowledge, and I never taught him. Also, the parents are not native English speakers so I donāt know if this fellow has had help with essays. I know that after the deferrals, he added some more schools to his list - but these are more lottery schools. Is there a way I can intervene in this train wreck waiting to happen?
Awkwardly, my DS has had more success in his search, and so he politely has avoided all college talk with his friend and thus itās hard to know how I would transmit any advice. (Itās also the case that this boy ignored my one piece of advice offered earlier to all of DSās friends in a group setting about applying to rolling ālikeliesā and if applying to MIT, also applying to Caltech and/or other open EA schools.)
@fretfulmother How close a friend is this boy to you son? If he is very close, I would approach him privately to ask how his college search is going. If he is honest with you, you may want to stress how random these acceptances seem to be this year, and ask if he has thought of any back up plans. If he asks for further assist, help him. If he doesnāt , as hard as it will be, so not offer any more advice. Easier said than done, Iām sure.
@fretfulmother I donāt think there is anything wrong with having your son ask if his friend would like some help with some apps for some lower reach schools, he might be more receptive to some help now that things are not turning out the way he expected. My D16 had an application weekend back in September and invited several friends over to work on apps together. Any chance your DS can arrange a āOne last push for RD appsā party that way it is in a group setting and friend might feel less targeted ?
^^^ Amazing idea @labegg , I never would have thought of that.
@carolinamom2boys @labegg - thank you! Those are great suggestions. This Wednesday is our last day before break, and all the relevant kids will be finishing Math Team at 3:30 - I have aftercare for my little one until 6 that day, so maybe I can offer a time/place for last-ditch app work with help in my classroom and make it more general?
@CAMidwestMom , I think I mentioned it here before, but my D is eligible to apply to the Honors college at the three state schools she was admitted to.
One requires a 3.5 (which the school recalculated her gpa toā¦) one is a 3.6, but can use weighted grade, (and Dās W grade is 4.3) and the other - I donāt remember! - but itās also a bit lower. They all required a higher test score and I think that was the key to D being eligible.
D has kind of lopsided stats - a 3.4 uw, but a 31 ACT. She also took mostly Honors and APs in her academic core classes.
She has struggled in high school to keep up with the amount of homework and reading in some AP classes, along with ECs, etc. (Iām also currently in the middle of seeing about having her tested for LDā¦ or maybe she is just very slow, and sometimes lazyā¦?)
Because of the above reasons, and others - she doesnāt like that two of the Honors programs require a lot of volunteering hours, and attending required lectures, and one requires living in Honors Dorm for first two years - she is not even applying to any of them, sheās decided. She says she just wants to be with "regular "kids in regular college classes.
She also wants time to possibly double-major and/or have a minor, and maybe work part-time starting sophomore year. She wants to join Marching Band. And, finally, she wants to be able to have more of a social life in college - she has had very little time for just hanging out with friends these past four years.
She is also the kind of person who does really well juggling 2 or 3 things, but once it gets past that, she floundersā¦
I know she is a bit unsure of herself, and although I KNOW that she is quite capable of handling the Honors level work at these schools, the fact that the idea of it causes her stress, is enough for me to be okay with her not applying to them.
Her gpa is borderline for her being eligible, so I think sheāll be fine without the /Honors. She definitely would not be the top student in the program(s).
At all three schools, too, I believe she has the option of applying later as a sophomore.
So, D is choosing to go in non-Honors right now and see how it goes.
I know, at two of her schools, there is the opportunity for any undergrad to apply for research learning and/or internships. And these are non-flagship, smaller schools where there are mostly undergrads and there is much less competition with graduate students, to shineā¦
I think there sometimes comes a point where one has to consider oneās sanity and emotional well-being before pushing through to anything elseā¦
edited to add: D got scholarship offers, but they are NOT tied to her being in Honors, thank goodness. She needs to maintain a 3.0 to keep receiving the scholarship. Another reason to have her try non-Honors approach firstā¦