S is done with admissions and is 4-0-1, with honors colleges at most. He did put himself on the waitlist at the one school out, but he will not likely choose it if he gets off. He will just be too invested in his current choice school by then. He’s happy, so all is great. He is off to an FRC competition today. Luckily for us and him, it falls over his Spring break. I don’t think his team will advance to the finals, so this is probably his last FRC event. If they advance, I guess we’ll have to plan yet another trip!
Congrats to all of those with good news coming in. And so sorry to those who did not get into schools of choice, especially the UCs! What carnage. And my fingers are crossed for all of those still awaiting notifications. GOOD LUCK TO ALL.
Ha. I want to think of my DS as having a Big MAC at a value menu school - he was offered " full tuition and fees " at a commuter school research university that has a rough reputation. A reputation they are trying to improve and pourinng $$$ in like crazy in the next 20 yrs.
But he also has little MaC at a posh big name that would open doors -
D is 5 1/2 for 6 - 5 acceptance and one deferral. She is still waiting on 8. She has low expectations for next week and would be happy to choose from 2 of her current acceptances. I am more hopeful and think she will get 2 possibly 3 more acceptances. Like @jmek15 I am super distracted.
Couple of updates for my D17. We knew the last few decisions would be OOS reaches.
Boston College - after being deferred EA she was denied RD
University of Richmond - waitlisted (this one makes me sad because I think she wanted this one the most - however it is too far to visit and show more interest for just a maybe - plus I don’t want her to get more excited/hopeful about it)
Still waiting on:
Wake Forest - probably her 2nd to Richmond - but I am worried her writing isn’t strong enough to compensate for her 30 act - their app was extensive and creative/writing heavy.
Lafayette - I think this one is probably just too far away and too far north for her to consider. But I guess if the FA works out we will visit if she gets accepted
Vanderbilt - I don’t see any way at all she will get accepted here - her stats just aren’t high enough. But she really really wanted to give a shot. I will be shocked if she is accepted or even waitlisted.
I am really trying to get her to attend an overnight or accepted students visit to one of the schools on the table right now (she has 5 solid choices)…but she is so reluctant. The idea of visiting alone makes her anxious.
@DMV301 I graduated from NEU/UG and BU/G and lived in the city for years. Disclaimer, I also love cities in general. Boston is small and fairly compact, but still manages to offer thriving arts/culture, world class museums, theater options, music galore (from boston symphony orchestra to concerts at whatever they are calling the Boston Garden these days), and (dare I say) lots of fun night time entertainment. Also, there are fabulous dining options for every price range.
Is it perfect, clean, crime free and cheap? Nope. But it’s fun and lively on a livable scale, and very much a students paradise if fun w/ great opportunities is what they are looking for.
When I lived in the city we took advantage of discounted opportunities to see concerts and plays, spent a lot of time shopping and eating at Faneuil Hall, the Prudential Center, Newbury Street, Kendall Square and Harvard Square, went sailing at community boating on the Charles River, explored the Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum (my fav) and even the Aquarium, We watched the Boston Marathon and Red Sox Games, and went to concerts and movies at the Hatch Shell on the Charles (including the Boston Pops on the 4th of July). In the winter it is sometimes snowy, which then melts and turns into big puddles, and it is often cold, but there are clubs that go on affordable ski trips to mountains 2 to 3 hours away, ice skating at the Frog Pond on the Boston Common, and a cool bowling alley near the Pru. If someone says they are bored in Boston they need to move to NYC. Oh, and sports are big here. College hockey, in particular. Google Beanpot. Any other Boston fans want to chime in?
DS is done with 15 with 13-1-1 (both 1-1 are yield plays since he applied for BSMD and also opted for UG) results and waiting on 6 more (all lotteries). Vandy is still dandy for me but he wants to wait
16/16 so far on acceptances and 12/15 on either outright merit aid and/or merit scholarship finalist status (no Robertson or AB at Duke, no Jefferson at UVA or McCabe at Swarthmore, but those were pretty unlikely to begin with; D did get a likely letter for Duke admissions with an invitation to a recruitment weekend, so that’s nice). All of the lottery merit scholarship programs have a guarantee of at least some merit for attending scholarship weekends, so we’ll see what comes of those.
Still waiting on a few admissions for few lottery schools of the HPS variety, two more LACs, one small research uni, and one state flagship (Cal). Somehow, I think it’s likely that D’s winning streak might come to a end somewhere along the way, but feeling grateful for some amazing options.
D17 is 3 - 0, with honors college and scholarships at each. We’ll visit UAH (tuition + room; haven’t heard about competitive schollys yet) and UMD (full tuition remission + $12,000/year) next week and hopefully have a decision soon after. I’d like her to wait until she gets info on the competitive scholarships at UAH, but she may have made up her mind before then.
We were chasing big MAC, and we feel extremely fortunate to have had three options where tuition + was covered.
Oops - this cut off before I got to edit my scorescord.
So far, it looks like we’ve gotten one slider, 3 Big Macs (i.e., full tuition), the possibility of a couple of other Big Macs, and one possible Whopper (i.e., full ride – sorry to mix fast food metaphors…Oh, wait, maybe a full ride should be a Happy Meal?)
Still waiting on a few admissions for few lottery schools of the HPS variety (i.e., Where’s the beef?), two more LACs, one small research uni, and one other state flagship (Cal). Somehow, I think it’s likely that D’s winning streak might come to a end somewhere along the way, but feeling grateful for some amazing options so far.
@itsgettingreal17 H retired from working at the UMUC campus a couple of years ago, although the last 12 years were telecommuting from the Midwest. When he began work in the 80s his benefits allowed spouses and children to attend any campus in the Maryland system with full tuition remission. (Of course, they’ve restricted their benefits since then, but he’s grandfathered.) Our kids grew up knowing that if there was a Maryland campus they were interested in, and if they could gain admission, it was a great option for them.
@LoveTheBard Wow! That is so impressive and I am very happy for you and your daughter. Even if her winning streak ends she has been awarded some awesome options. Nice to see hard work and perseverance pays off! =D> <:-P
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on your post about your son from a few days ago. It was very touching and powerful. Several days later and I’m still thinking about it. I hope we show our kids that much love.
We have heard from 11/12, all admits so far. The last one is Smith, on Friday, and is by far D17’s reachiest school, if that is a word. She got money everywhere [all merit except oddly one need-based], ranging from a low of 8K at UVM to 31K at University of Redlands. If she makes it in to Smith she won’t get a dime–they give very little merit and she wouldn’t qualify for it, and we didn’t even apply for need-based as we wouldn’t be eligible. So having the common conversation of “if she does get in to Smith, is it worth spending approx an extra 30K/year to go there?” Doesn’t seem like it to me, for a number of reasons. We’ll see if it’s even an issue…guessing this will be her one rejection.
@HSCounselor2 We are also waiting on USC with NMF. I don’t expect any additional aid there, which will probably rule it out, but hoping for a miracle. I think without aid in addition to the 1/2 tuition NMF scholarship, the cost will be too much more than UCLA for us.
I read a blog post by a USC Viterbi admissions staff member that the acceptance rate to the Viterbi School of Engineering this year was 13%. First school I’ve ever seen that posts the number before decisions come out.
Current status: D17 has heard back on all 12 applications, has gotten honors program decisions from all but Muhlenberg (though their aid package includes an item limited to students in one of their honors programs, so…), and has gotten financial decisions from all of them except Smith. Unless Smith comes through in an utterly unexpected way (and possibly even then), it’s looking more and more like a lock for Muhlenberg at this point.
Big MAC at a value menu school: My D17 is a high-stats kid (especially given the geographic hook she has built-in), but my D19, we’re more likely to be looking at schools with lower reputations and name recognition. Myself and my wife, we find reputation overhyped, so we’re more likely to come down on the “not to debt” side of @5redheads’s question. (Not to mention that D19 is a quite practical person. Really, all that matters to her is that if she goes with industrial engineering that the program is ABET accredited, and that if she goes with industrial design that there’s IDSA or NASAD accreditation or some equivalent review.)
Yes, @Dolemite hopefully my D will get the NMF and other $$ from USCali. It is not a top choice for us because of distance, but might be a good option. Also waiting on scholarship weekend and FA packages before we can close in on a decision. @youcee Fingers crossed for good news on Saturday from USC! We are in the same boat and may be out of the ball park for us.
I am so appreciative for this board and the information and stories shared here! ^:)^
I don’t want to give numbers because then I’d have to admit to how many schools we applied to! :)) D17 has so far been accepted to 62%, waitlisted at 13%, denied at 25%. I see where we’re going, but D17 is not ready to see it yet. She will go to an excellent school, but probably not with her bf. We’re still waiting on several.
@eandesmom We’re still waiting on NYU, Lehigh, Drexel, he’s waiting on ivies. If he somehow gets into an Ivy she has excellent schools she’s already accepted to with enough merit to be feasible. I’ve always felt his parents would only let him go East Coast if it was Ivy, I just don’t see that happening at this point, but we’ll see. We also haven’t technically heard from UCI, but the longer it goes with no response the more I think she has a rejection coming. They just didn’t anticipate getting into all opposite schools, one of them being accepted seemed to be the kiss of death to the other.
As for CS it’s hard to fathom how a kid with a 34 act, top 5% of his huge public HS, with excellent EC’s and leadership could be nearly shut out of California. Irvine is his only acceptance in the state, that’s been a blow.
D is 16/16 with 1 outstanding (and we’re expecting this one to break her streak). She was accepted to the Honors College at all and a semi-finalist/finalist for the Grand Mac (full ride+) at 14/16. She declined 2 and competed for 12. She was awarded 6 Grand Macs, 2 Big Macs (one at 3/4+ COA and one at 2/3+ COA), 4 Whoppers (1/2 COA), 1 slider at her most expensive option, some money at another, and a big fat donut at an OOS that offers Grand Mac or nothing (she interviewed for it but didn’t win). We’re also still waiting on a decision about one more Grand Mac.
We were Grand Mac hunting and are very happy with her options (not considering the others). Beyond the money, the benefits offered by the honors colleges and to those getting the Grand Mac at her options are amazing, and benefits she wouldn’t get at full pay anywhere.
Good luck to all still waiting on decisions!!! Congrats to any with recent good news that I missed commenting on and hugs to those with recent disappointing news. This process has been a crazy ride!
@DMV301 regarding Boston, please see @jmek15 post. Perfect summary. Tons to do. Pretty safe. Easy to get around without a car. Different areas of the city to explore with different vibes.
Disclaimer, I hate cities!! I like mountains and oceans. I can’t deal with the traffic, noise, congestion, etc. I am a transplant to the Boston area, and while I have enjoyed my time here, I look forward to moving soon. My wife loves it though, and my kids enjoy being near the city. They take advantage of the city more than I do.
My wife lived downtown for a decade, and we moved Newton when we met. I moved us out of the city to the burbs for work.
I used to like to go to Celtics games when my company had seats and I could use them. I used to like the Harvard Square area, lots of shopping/eating/drinking spots. My wife likes going out to eat, theatre, Museum of Fine Arts, etc. She loves the action of the city and exploring new places. I sort of like that stuff once in a while, but really I’d rather be at the beach, on a boat, riding my bike, or snowboarding. I guess having access to all of that stuff is what makes living in the Boston area a decent choice. My son is really considering going to school in Boston and doing some studying abroad. I think he is ready for a change from suburban life and wants a taste of the action.
Any other Boston fans want to chime in?