OK, I need to be talked down as well. I heard from the one school from which we do not have an answer - and was told an admission decision would be made in the next two weeks, and we’d have information on the Honors Program and finances by May 1. Wow.
D is actually interested in this school, so I don’t want to burn bridges, We haven’t received any info from this school on their NMF offer or on visiting or anything. Some of her other choices seem very enthusiastic to have her, so this is really not sitting well with me.
Wow, and she has to have the school in her NMF portal finalized by May 1 or she risks not getting her NMF-related schlarship. That’s cutting it super close. Eeek!
I have the tally for my S18. Very proud of how well he did and amazed to see all the other fantastic results you all posted.
Accepted with honors - UCSC, UCSB, UCI, UoP, SJSU, ASU/Barrett
Accepted - CalPoly (waiting to hear on honors), UCSD, Purdue, Case Western
Waitlisted - Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, Co School of Mines (still don’t understand that one!)
Denied - UCB, Harvey Mudd, Stanford, USC
Absolutely no clue where he will go but visiting a ton of schools during spring break. Loved Barrett yesterday.
My 2 cents on UCB, to balance out the comments a bit. It is world renowned in many areas so the professors, guest lecturers, research and study abroad options can be amazing. Some agreements they have with foreign universities are very select. The area is mixed with some great places and also areas with homeless, etc. It is expensive. Despite the political leanings, we would have considered it for those reasons. Honors or regents at UC schools make a difference in terms of getting classes but some of the most difficult classes to get may be ones your child doesn’t need due to AP credits. Others have already said many positive things about UT Austin, so I will leave it at that.
Yep, me too. I am really bewildered by this. There was a request early on for confirmation of her graduation date (somehow they had her as having graduated already), and that was immediately supplied, but I am wondering if somehow that side-tracked her application & it got stuck somewhere.
Wow indeed @GertrudeMcFuzz I’m sorry this is happening to you guys! Probably the best solution at this point for sanity’s sake is to move forward with selecting from the available options and then if/when this school comes into play at least the choice is down to 2!
Hold tight @Booajo! Only a bit longer! I wonder if it would help with the stress of making an “official” decision to make a preliminary decision and just kinda live with it and see how it feels with no pressure to actually commit yet. He has the time until May 1. It’s what my D is doing (why I haven’t announced). We told her she could just make a decision and that way she had plenty of time to change her mind with no penalty. She’s at the point now where she tells inquiring family members “Right now I think I am going to X” and we all behave as if that is the decision and that is where she will be. But she hasn’t made a deposit, or said “no” to any of her other serious contenders. (I think she did say “no” to a couple she was very sure about) It’s been about 2 weeks or so now and she seems to be feeling better about her decision each day, gradually letting go of the others. Soon I think she’ll be ready to hit that button!
@Nomorelurker – she wanted to go OOS. I bugged her to fill out the UGA Fellows application but she didn’t (I think it was due right around the time the Stanford REA or USC applications were due).
Note: D18 hasn’t withdrawn any applications yet. She’s on a service trip for SB and has had time to think things over a bit more. The true final decision is coming up in a week or so, when she has to decide on RRSP at Bama. I think Bama is 90% and think she’ll have a good time there. Seems right to me (she can go to a fancy school for MS or PhD).
DP Jr. heard a “no” from Princeton, as expected, so the deciderating really needs to happen now that essentially all the info is in. I think if he had been selected as an RRSP, it would have been a no brainer. The Tower Award at Trinity threw another big curve. Going to discuss timeline today … the sulking period is just about over.
Alright, wheels are turning. D’s portal now shows her as admitted to the university, but no info on scholarships yet. Got a return call from an admissions rep who wanted to help, but didn’t have any info to give me except the phone number for the scholarship office, who then directed me to the Honors office, with whom I’d already been in email contact.
Now the decision - to visit or not visit? All tours are full for D’s Spring Break next week …
@zomaya99 thank you for the helpful answer. I did not realize that FA varied so much - very smart to have the comparison offers - I guess your smart D gets it from somewhere close! We are at a small private school that encourages students to withdraw their other apps when they have a positive response (because at a smaller school there are only so many kids they will accept in a given class and the apps are absolutely taking space from each other).
@GertrudeMcFuzz they are really pushing it on the timeline. I would be completely stressed out waiting. I hope you get some news soon. It sounds like they are working on it.
S18 interviewed for big local scholarship today. Everyone there was really friendly and they did take his picture so that’s a good sign, right? Original timeline for the award was week of April 16. When he was invited to the interview the email stated that winners would be announced by April 23. Today they said no later than May 3. I’m afraid we may need to make our decision without consideration of the scholarship. The scholarship would make his first choice, A&M, a slam dunk. It is already in our budget financially, but only with S having to contribute about 8K per year from his own money. He has 10K saved already and plans to work in the summers. This scholarship would essentially cover his portion.
Other option on the table is Ole Miss. It is currently about 10K per year cheaper than A&M because of their generous scholarships. The local scholarship must be used in-state, so can not be used at Ole Miss. The local scholarship is renewable for up to 8 years so can cover graduate school/med school and can be used out of state after undergrad.
If we have to make the decision before knowing about the scholarship, it will probably be A&M. We take the risk of passing up a very good guaranteed financial package at Ole Miss and spending a lot more money at A&M…but the bigger risk is choosing Ole Miss and passing up this amazing scholarship for up to 8 years. We really hoped to know in time to factor the scholarship into the final decision. The other major factor besides money is that A&M seems to have a better program for his major, but Ole Miss has a fabulous Honors College. Decisions, decisions. I welcome any advice.
@GertrudeMcFuzz I am glad she got an answer and it is positive…can only imagine how stressful. We just got off that drag us along train weekend and even though it was a WL it is like a two ton truck has been lifted off my daughter…the waiting and teasing each week was killing her. I would visit even if you do not have the scholarship.
My daughter has made her decision and will share it with all of us at the end of the week…once she is sure. (We think we know but are respecting her space). Maybe some of the kiddos who are not saying anything have done the same and just haven’t shared how far along they are. Hang in there @Booajo and others in this situation!
@S18D20mom my advice is to make the decision based on if he is getting the money. I say go with the school that is in heart. If he chooses based on the potential money one way or the other and it does not happen that way there will always be regret.
Day 2 of the teacher strike here in Oklahoma. It’s getting really ugly, with no end in sight. =((
Communication from the school district about how this will affect seniors is vague. They say the graduation ceremonies will go on as planned, but whether they will get their diplomas is unclear. So much uncertainty. D emailed her college to let them know what was going on. She’s reluctant to decline any of her acceptances, just in case.
@GertrudeMcFuzz I wouldn’t worry about tours being full, since your D is an admitted student. You may want to call the admissions office to confirm, just to be sure. Last week I called a college that my S had been admitted to (but had full tours) and was told to just show up and check in. So we just showed up and it really was that smooth–we checked in saying S was already admitted. No problem.
DD “officially” announced her decision on her social media yesterday and gave me the thumbs up to post it on my facebook. Then last night she voluntarily had a discussion about potential classes and schedules for the fall and definitely decided on a BS over a BA (Psychology) was her plan. So, I guess she has definitely made up her mind! Next big hurdle is housing selection, that happens in May (I think) and then the new student conference/course selection in early June.
Since Hindsight is 20/20, what do y’all think you would tell the parents of the HS Class of 2019?
Things we would do differently…
Cut back on the number of applications (keep it under 10). 3 reach/4 match/2 safety.
Not apply so early in August and set the application submission goal for late September/Mid October.
Apply ED to the #1 choice, if it is an option and finances are not a concern.
Visit every school applying to, BEFORE the application is submitted.
Don’t panic, everyone’s admissions journey is unique.
@droppedit, the RRSP at Alabama seems very unique and a great opportunity for your daughter. RRSP sounds similar to the Foundation Fellows and Ramsey Scholarship at UGA, in terms of providing research opportunities as an honors student, and travel stipends for study abroad. You’re right that the savings can also be used for so much more, from summer internships to grad school.
I talked with D and we have agreed to stop begging for information from the one remaining school and concentrate on her other options. She has 7 other schools to choose from, all of which seem eager to have her. I’d much rather deal with one of them for the next four years.
We are at a small private school that encourages students to withdraw their other apps when they have a positive response (because at a smaller school there are only so many kids they will accept in a given class and the apps are absolutely taking space from each other).