Same situation here re essays! It’s tough because I totally understand how much work the applications and honors/merit supplements are (in addition to hard classes, ramped up ECs, and sport,?spending time with friends because it is senior year) but I want DS20 to have choices after the decisions come in. We are actually having a “meeting” with DS20 tomorrow afternoon so he can formulate/refine his strategy for the home stretch. A while back I saw someone suggest having a weekly time to talk through college stuff, and that has worked out great for us. Sometimes we don’t have much to discuss but this week we do! I want to stick with our original plan but I think he is thinking about not doing the four RD apps…
So far DS20 has applied to three EA schools, one is a match I think and two are reaches (for everyone). He will complete two more tomorrow,; his stats are over the middle 50 range on those but I’m still not sure what to call them.
The situation is a little tricky because he could play his sport at D3 schools and has been in touch with those coaches. He just isn’t sure if he wants to go that route or go to a better, bigger school and not play. I feel like we should try to keep all the options open by applying to both types of schools and see where he gets in - but he is getting sick of doing the applications. The other tough part is that I am having a really hard time assessing his chances. He has a 35 ACT and a 4.0 UW, 10 APs etc but nearly all of his ECS are involving his sport. He is a high level (top in state) at the sport but I don’t know if it’s too one dimensional.
Anyway, I am just really torn on whether to encourage him to finish these two apps and all four of the RD apps over Christmas break or try to reduce the number of RD apps. If only I had a crystal ball and knew where he would get accepted.
@holychild being low income is not an advantage in the college app process, it is a major hinderance. Only a few schools are able to offer enough financial aid for a low income student to attend without maxing out student loans and they are usually the most selective schools.
@holychild - We’re low income and there isn’t nearly the need-based aid out there that you seem to think. If my son had the stats to get into say MIT, then yeah, we’d be fine, but even with a 0 EFC and going in-state with a full Pell and a full state grant we’re looking at a 19K/year shortfall on 40K/year income.
His out of state option is now down to about the same with a couple merit scholarships, but we’re crossing our fingers that there are one or two need based as well. My son is lucky in that he has quite a bit of savings, most low income kids don’t and they are very limited in where they can go if they’e not Ivy league level.
We are also low income and it hurts in admissions at need-aware schools. There are many meets-need schools my D is qualified for but her counselor says they would not accept her because of how much money she would need. It’s a difficult situation for sure.
Has anybody else noticed something like this? My husband was on his linked in and noticed someone from a school DS20 had been looking on his page. I figured schools checked out the kids social media but was surprised by this. Not a big deal, more curious if this was the norm
@mtemmd I’ve never heard of that – seems creepy to me. I’m curious which school it is (but I guess if you wanted to disclose you already would have done so).
@mtemmd That is super creepy. Is there any chance that your child’s stats are on the bubble and they are trying to make a financial determination? I know that sounds bad. I’m unfamiliar with your child’s story But I do think that some small privates may look at ability to pay as a factor to push some kids off the bubble (or not). Still super creepy. And honestly it may make me reconsider my affinity toward the school.
The school is Pitt. I think DS20’s scores are good, he has a 35 ACT and a 3.5/3.98w gpa. 9 APs, all 4s/5s so far, and some solid extracurricular.
So nobody else has noticed this? I am not so much bothered by it as I am intrigued. I think I started the process assuming DS20s social media would be gone over. We have talked to our kids for years about this stuff. Just surprised they looked at my husbands. But at the same time, part of me wonders if there is (?) maybe money involved? Or maybe they were confused by what he does for a job? Who knows. After doing the CSS for some other schools DS20 is applying for nothing feels invasive any more, lol
@mtemmd I actually think this situation rings a bell with me, although not with current kids applying. I’m thinking it may have been a college visit or scholarship situation with an older sibling years ago.
Something else to consider-- maybe they are measuring some kind of loyalty. As in… what is your connection to the university?
@mtemmd It’s disturbing, but I imagine a fairly common practice. On any of your DS20’s application, there’s information about you and and your spouse. Even if the applicant isn’t filing for financial aid! So all of the social media platforms are just an extension of that and an efficient way for a college to do their diligence. The information is out there for anyone to see, so it’s hard to take offense when anyone does.
How can you tell who has looked at your Linked In profile? (I don’t have one so am trying to imagine it based on my knowledge of other social media platforms such as IG, etc).
@SCgirl1 I can speak to the above question. My DS20 was in a very similar scenario to yours. He’s a fairly high level swimmer and had D3 interest to some very strong liberal arts schools in the Midwest. We discussed this at length and he made the decision not to pursue athletics in college. He has a similar stats to your son, but with lower ACTs. IMO, if he’s not sure that college athletics is in the cards I would throw those schools out. DS wasn’t willing to sacrifice school, clubs and other opportunities for 4 hours of daily practice and bus trips on weekends.
Also, admissions offices understand what kind of a time commitment and drive it takes to be a high level athlete. IMO, it’s better than the student who is half “assing” a half dozen + clubs to boost their resume.
I’d be surprised if admissions would have time to look at parental LinkedIn. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried to blindly look people up on LinkedIn and it’s taken forever to figure out if I’m looking at the right person or not. I’m guessing it was a coincidence somehow. Could your husband tell this person’s role at Pitt @mtemmd?
He can’t tell the role of the person because he doesn’t have the premium subscription. It could just be a huge coincidence, who knows. We are not in PA but his company is national (actually international) so who knows, could be just a fluke. His company might also have seemed interesting to whomever came across DS20’s application so they might have clicked on it. I was just curious to see if others have noticed the same and doesn’t seem to be the case.
D20 directed the school play, and has been so busy as a result. She managed to submit 5 EA apps before the 11/1 deadlines and has a 2 Dec scholarship deadlines and 3 more RD deadlines BO Jan. And then she has to prepare an Artistic Profile for the one school where she’s applying Dual Degree into their theater program.
This weekend was the play’s production. Everything went great, and she had a great time doing it. Surprisingly, she’s having her best semester yet, in terms of grades. And Saturday she got her first acceptance to Ohio State! (where her sister is a freshman)
She finally has an afternoon free and is resting before getting back to work on those endless essays.
How many colleges are your kids considering/applying to in general. My son has so far applied to 5 and could be applying to 5 - 7 more. Just seeking info here to see if we are way off or something. Thanks!
