Parents of the HS Class of 2016 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
17761

@ReminiscingDad I do remember that your DS was applying to MIT, what a bummer that that didn’t turn out good.

In all honesty, I think this cohort in CC was a little bit unusually lucky with the MIT acceptances. There are at least 4 kids here that I can remember who got admitted. I don’t think that has been the case in previous years. It only makes it more painful when someone’s DC doesn’t get in.

Something similar happened to my S at school. There were 3 other kids applying to MIT this year, two of them girls – first gen and low income, as well as the other boy. S was the only to get in, which kind of stunned me. You can’t get more hooked than the kids at my S’s school, but regardless, no luck with MIT. The other boy had been part of the MITES summer program and one of the girls had been part of the WISE program. No one got in, except my S who got rejected from MITES, which in turn made him not apply to WISE. On decision night, he was kind of disappointed that no one else made it. He was hoping for at least one of the girls, since no girl from his school has been admitted to MIT, ever :frowning:

He knows that his friends will have good choices in the end. Case on point, they all got LL from Cornell right around the same time of MIT decisions. At least one of the girls got into UChicago as well.

17762

S16 has 4 colleges at the top of his list, and now needs to begin the process of figuring out his top choice. Many folks talk about making lists of pros/cons. Would anyone here be willing to share their list of things they considered on a pro/con list? We are having difficulty trying to think of all things that should be considered.

17763

I’ve been so busy with work. I’ve been holding out to say S accepted ED I to Bucknell University. He has been so excited. But hasn’t really discussed with friends because they’ve been waiting till now.

17764

congragulattions with all the other acceptances. Hugs to the “redirects”; this is such an exciting time for everyone.

17765

Hi everyone, just checking in again. I try to read and keep up with (and root for) all your kids, but I deal with college admissions in my working life, so this is a busy season and am having lots of difficult conversations with my students, particularly about financial aid and the realities of it all.

So, I keep having to pop in and out of the thread because of those pressures, but we’re ticking along here. MIT was a no, but Stanford a yes, so I guess that balances out? Was convinced he was going to go to Caltech, but now he’ll have to visit. So we’re fully on board the SS Indecision, when we already had one foot on the dock. Because Stanford sets their visiting students day soooo late, pretty sure we’re destination unknown until May 1st.

@Ballerina016, your daughter has an amazingly bright future. I have had students deal with at-the-time crushing setbacks in the admissions cycle, but in the end feel it all worked out for the best. And they can’t imagine themselves anywhere else than the school where they matriculated.

We’ll see what Ivy Day brings. I’m ready for the cruise to dock but I’m cheering for all your amazing kids!

17766

@4kids2graduate - I posted this the other day on another thread after my D16 had made a decision amongst her top choices: Marquette, Duquense, Ithaca and Pitt (lost in the first round because it was not a direct entry program)

How she decided…after she got over the hurdle of direct entry vs. traditional route (which was really just a decision of practicality). D16 says that she went by (in order):

Academic Rigor - she looked at the SAT/ACT/GPA statistics of incoming students, graduation rates, first time pass rates, Common Data Set stuff trying to determine the academic rigor and if it seemed to be at a level at which she would be able to succeed, not too hard and not too easy and GPA requirements

Cost - Marquette was one of the most affordable with the highest stats and they really seemed to stress getting done in 6 years (She had acceptances for BS/DPT programs at Marquette, Ithaca, Duquesne, Seton Hall, Quinnipiac and U of Sciences).

Program Curriculum - DPT cohort size (Marquette was about 60-65, Duquesne projected around 80-85, Ithaca projected around 100), ability to access/register for classes (early access to the gross anatomy lab, junior year), “real” courses not “fluff”, # of clinical hours and clinical locations (700 to choose from at Marquette), ability to specialize etc, core/gen ed requirements.

Rank/Reputation - Marquette being the highest ranked direct entry program DPT (#12) and well ranked overall (although that DPT - USNWR rank is a bit bogus IMO, you can read up on how they determined that ranking…) Throughout the whole process she has asked current working PT’s about what they thought of the programs she was applying to and most seemed to have a good opinion about Marquette. What everyone else thought about where she should go to school (sometimes others can see a bit more clearly)

Environment - Location/size (city/medium), dorms (age/size/configuration), extra curricular/clubs (it was important to her that there was a Women’s LAX club), study abroad opportunities (some of the programs make it very difficult to fit in time to study abroad), access to campus (airfare from home), diversity (Marquette, although not particularly diverse in general, was the most diverse of the 3 programs she had narrowed down)

Things I wish she had taken into deeper consideration: weather, religion (we are not catholic), proximity to family (immediate family in Texas, maternal family in Akron/Cleveland, Ohio and paternal family in Rochester, NY).

Hope that helps someone!

17767

@texaspg, well, I guess I am a part of this group in a way since yes, my middle son, class of 2015, took a gap year and will be starting college in the fall hoping to be class of 2020 at his college. Maybe that’s why I subconsciously meandered over here. :slight_smile:

17768

@kittymom1102 thank you for your thoughtful comments. My son was deferred from MIT in EA and then rejected. That time allowed him to see other options more closely and detach a bit from MIT. So when the rejection came, he was in a better situation to handle it. He may apply again to MIT for a masters or PhD, so it’s not like it’s completely “out of sight, out of mind”.
@Ballerina016 thank you for your comments, I’m very blessed to do what I love and I take care of patients at a free clinic so the personal reward is enormous. Congratulations on all of your daughter’s options!

17769

One of my son’s current decision factors appears to be easy access to a golf course!

17770

@reminiscingdad The main problem with UMBC is that it is 20 minutes from our house and he craves some distance from us :slight_smile:

Also, the profs he most likely should do research with are personal friends and that would be a bit weird. Even they are recommending UMass instead.

@dragonflygarden My S is half seriously seeking a school that has a dorm with a pool table.

17771

@4kids2graduate D looked at both college and non-college things for her pro/con list.

What she considered:

  1. School size-probably the top consideration. She wanted small. She picked the second smallest on her list-less than 800 students total.
  2. Close faculty/student interaction/relationships. We saw this in action on our tour of the eventual winner. Lots of support, interest and caring.
    3)Small classes. Any small school likely has this by default. The few larger schools fell low on the list when she realized she’d have some ginormous classes.
    4)Cost, of course, but this was put into place BEFORE she applied anywhere. She knew how much we could help, and how much aid/merit would make them doable. It was based roughly on our in-state tuition living at home, which would always have been an option. Anytime any school offered an affordable option, it went on the “possible” list.
    5)Strong freshman support. D will be really young when she starts college-won’t turn 17 until late October. She (and we) wanted a school where she would not just be a number, where she’d actually have someone checking with her(and other freshmen) to make sure they were on track and ok. Her older sister did not have that, and really could have used that kind of support.
  3. Of course, a good program in her major, with the opportunity to get out “in the field” early.
    7)A strong sense of social justice. Her choice has a very long and proud history of social justice action.

Non-school things:
A)Big city, or at least a medium one.
B)Large minority population in the area.
C)Easy access to her church denomination (ON campus would have been best, close by is good enough)
D)Easy access to her favorite foods, hair care, other ethnic needs.
E)Decent public transportation. There is one or more bus routes stopping at the campus entrance-huge plus, as she will not have a car on campus (nor does she at home).

Hope this helps!

17772

@labegg Thanks for that post. We are putting together a chart to help S. The various environment items you listed are most helpful at this point because we have the academic piece figured out. It is the other stuff - the stuff you don’t see on the college websites - that can influence how a student feels about their college experience.

17773

@ReminiscingDad I understand your S’s situation. That’s exactly what happened to my S after his deferral from EA.

He moved on emotionally from MIT and started seriously considering other schools. Fast forward, his first love came knocking at his door and he fell in love again :x Reconciliation time >:D< ! ! !

17774

One thing we added to the list when looking at schools was whether or not classes were taught by TAs or professors .

17775

Just some ideas for picking the winner: As mentioned upstream, when pro/con list-making, dig deep into the details of the major requirements. Also examine course sequence, course description (syllabus, even), gen ed requirements, elective requirements/options. Check on the number of seats for required/desired courses (big lectures, small seminars?). Take a look at rate my prof reviews, etc.

Also, read the school’s strategic plan.

And don’t forget to cross your fingers.

One can use study abroad or domestic exchange if needed to expose a student to a different environment once he/she is in college.

17776

“…school’s strategic plan?”

17777

@crowlady - Honestly, my D16 may not have been looking for a pool table, but she always asked about the availability of a piano in the dorm when we toured.The ability to have access to a stress release valve is important.

17778

I have also found, perhaps a bit too late…that by just googling the school name and then diving into the search results 3 or 4 pages in, all sorts of interesting new articles and blogs by professors. It’s been very eye opening and helpful. The blogs by professors have been the most interesting, sometimes, not in a good way.

@carolinamom2boys - I agree, the TA teaching thing is so important, unfortunately getting a straight answer from the school on that subject and actual class size is like asking for top secret information!

17779

@labegg- I don’t think DS would consider a dorm without a piano. He sounds just like your DD. When ever he needs to think or relieve stress he will sit down and play. He loves improvisation.
Glad, as it stands, both options have pianos in the dorms!

Also agree that it can be informative to check out ‘Rate your Professor’ for the colleges you are looking at!

17780

@sbjdorlo : “He loved the energy of the campus, and just really loved the people he met when visiting… it really was a huge deciding factor. He connected to more people there…”

And that is it in a nutshell.

Find your people, folks, find your people.