Congrats to your DDs @Musicmom2015 and @Dancingmom518 on the acceptances!
8136. We got something like that yesterday. It was a school I had never heard of offering a $32,000 to $34,000 scholarship. Went to the schools site and it was totally based on SAT or ACT scores
Twin mom checking in! My anxiety is ticking upward due to some admission decisions with my twins. They have said they would like to attend different schools, but yet itâs not a deal breaker if it doesnât end up that way. âBaby Aâ, my B+ student, has always had a pretty narrow field- close to home, major very certain, knows what she wants. âBaby Bâ, my A- student, has the same major picked out, but has been fairly uncertain about that and non-committal on her school interests (applied to 15). So we just found out that Baby B got direct admit to Kelley, which is Baby Aâs #1 choice (with no direct). This has increased Baby Bâs interest in IU. At the same time, she has recently gotten some great scholarship offers at awesome schools that are still not âKelleyâ quality. My point is that she has more options. But yet it seems like sheâs encroaching (justifiably so) on her sisterâs main option. Iâm so worried that feelings will be hurt, that one kid will feel pushed out of her #1 choice just to be able to go to a different school to establish her own identity. The other way of looking at it is that maybe if they both end of at the same school, having an instant study partner would help Baby A with her standard admit. Baby A does not yet know about Baby Bâs admission status yet. Maybe she wonât care. Ugh⊠Any parent advice on how to navigate this situation? I feel like every reaction and piece of advice I give can influence the feelings on the situation.
No specific advice to offer @Momofmanytoo but I wanted you to know that I agree that is a tough situation. I do believe that DC end up where they should be so maybe it is a sign that they belong at the same school? Maybe you need to adopt the âsmile & nodâ strategy and just listen to each separately as they work through their decisions.
No advice but as a mom of twins (2022) I sympathize. And I will be taking your experience and tucking it away for myself. DS22 is a straight A student who tests well. His twin is a B student who doesnât. Iâm not sure what they want to do or where they will end up, but going through the process with their older brother (DS20) has sparked some good discussions already.
I think being upfront is a good thing. But I donât know your kids. Good luck with whatever you end up doing. I agree that kids end up where they are meant to be but sometimes that is easier said but not always recognized at first.
Itâs funny, going through the process with DS20 and biting my nails until we know where he will end upâŠwill he go to his #1? Will he get in/get $ enough? I hope so but we wonât know until April most likely. But there is a small part of me who wonders if his brother, DS22, would of course get in there if DS20 doesnât. And what would that look like.
Good luck!!! I hope it all works out. And keep us posted.
Colleges buy contact lists from both the College Board as well as the ACT. This is no secret and the student consents to it every time they fill out a new test registration. The student can log onto their College Board or ACT account and change whether they want their info shared but it will not take back information that has already been purchased. Colleges also data mine to pull names and cross reference with public lists from Scouting, national competitions, etc.
I attended a presentation by a top school with a large number of applicants where they said that they pay xx cents (not sure of the exact amount. Over 10 cents but under $1) per name. They can ask for names of students with scores in a certain range that are interested in certain majors or who are from a certain region of the US or who are URM. They direct their marketing materials accordingly. It is the reason that my kid doesnât receive emails about music and arts programs but does receive info about STEM and engineering. We get a ton of emails targeting URM which wrongly assume that we are first gen and low income.
The past couple of weeks colleges have been more aggressive in offering free application waivers, scholarship offers, etc. to drive up the number of applications in order to make them appear more selective.
Good luck to those with twinsâŠI canât even imagine. I have a closer-than-normal set of Irish (well Russian⊠they were adopted) twins that are just 10 months apart but they are class of 19 and 20 so different years, different genders, different high school experiences. In the end though they will end up right next door to each other in college in Boston. D20 is an athlete so this process was front-loaded and pretty anti-climatic and I cannot âcommiserateâ with any of you. I was there last year though with S19 for sure.
So exciting to hear about everybodyâs acceptances!
DS classmates have gotten accepted to schools DS has applied to, and he hasnt heard anything so its causing ME to stress a little. Ds is fine, thankfully he is pretty calm like his dad. Also we ran into a FAFSA complication. Ds dad recently changed his phone # and therefore cant be electronically verified (we tried) to get a tax transcript, so we have to get it mailed to the house. It makes me wonder if the application decision will be affected since we cant immediately send the transcript. Trying not to dwell on it, which is hard for me, lol.
Anyways, hope everyone has a good holiday!
This all definitely makes sense and seems to correspond to our experience. However, our older dd20 also constantly gets targeted mail/emails about engineering programs (but she has never listed engineering as an interest when signing up for testing). My younger dd21 is interested in engineering, however, and has so indicated in her test forms. It makes us wonder whether schools mix them up given their same last names/area/school and being only one year apart.
@Momofmanytoo I was unclear if twin A was looking to be a business major as well? If she didnât get direct admission to Kelley, is she still thinking of going at all? Does she have admission to other business schools yet?
If it were my kid (twin or not) I would steer towards the direct admit in every case. And, is IU merit enough so that attendance is affordable with 2?
My son has some friends who have heard from colleges he applied to and hasnât heard yet. This part is hard!
On a side note, he is suddenly getting lots of mail for arts/dance programs at schools. He is NOT an art/dance kid. We are a little surprised and not sure how he got on whatever list he seems to be on.
@Blacknblu We are in the same boat. Money is most definitely the most important deciding factor.
The strategy has been to apply to schools where she is considered a high-stat student and chase the merit aid. Her stats arenât as good as your childâs (gpa 3.8uw and SAT=1160) and she has gotten two very good merit offers already.
My kid didnât indicate engineering but did indicate another STEM field. Only two schools in all the masses of emails referenced the exact STEM field. All of the others were generic STEM or engineering.
As I mentioned earlier, my kid received an email from a school stating that they received contact info from Common Ap but the reminder wasnât sent to the email address that is on the Common Ap. Instead it was sent to the email that was used for College Board testing.
Another funny thing is that I called one school to confirm that everything was received before the holiday and they said, âWe have multiple emails listed for your student.â They should have two emails - the one used for College Board and the one used for applications. But they had others that were used for participation in outside activities/events as well.
@lkg4answers Did you watch âThe Big Hackâ on Netflix? That may answer some of your questions. None of this should be surprising at all.
@bigmacbeth I didnât watch it but I am not surprised. Someone on this thread once posted that they didnât write down the correct email address when the kid toured to show âdemonstrated interest.â S/he was concerned that the college wouldnât be able to match the kid who toured with the kid who applied. Based on my experience, it doesnât look like the schools are having problems determining exactly which kid does what. 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Was anyone else up at 2am browsing recipes last minute? I have all of the ingredients, I just have to find the perfect one. 
@bigmacbeth (and any others following my twin saga) TO clarify⊠and perhaps expand on the issue at hand. Both girls are enrolling in the same major. Twin A is dead set on Accounting. Twin B is not as positive, may likely change to something else in Kelley. Hereâs the rub. Twin A got direct admit to IUPUI Kelley, will have to go standard to IUB. I know they are not the same. But for her, risk mitigation is perhaps worth it. She was dead set on IUPUI until she wound up visiting Bloomington again. Now sheâs really interested and considering trying to standard admit there. Yes, itâs a risk. Iâm not sure what the reward is? A more âcollegy experienceâ? Better parties? I have no idea. I think the right thing is for her to take the IUPUI direct and be safe, since sheâs so set on her major. However, Iâll let her decide 100%. But now that Twin B has IUB direct admit, itâs just a paradox. Twin B was originally laser focused on Purdue Krannert because she didnât think sheâd get direct admit. And sheâs not as positive about her major, could potentially even change out to something more techy. I left these details out of the original post, as not to muddy the waters. Again, Iâm so torn on how to approach this with them, as they do seem to really value my thoughts. But I know I have to let them make up their own minds and accept the consequences.
Speaking of consequences, the thought of a kid having to transfer out of a school to keep their major seems heartbreaking to me. To start at a school, make friends and then be uprooted it not the ideal situation. This is my main concern.
IU costs are as about as low as we can expect (except for Purdue), as we are instate. I donât expect much merit. DH and I will actually have three in next year, as middle child will be a senior. But we are a blended family, so we will be paying half of twins tuition. It will be painful for a bit. But weâve done it before with the first 2 and 3. Prayers appreciated.
@Momofmanytoo Yes, thatâs tough. I would strongly recommend my kid take the direct admit to any major, but I can understand the attraction of the IU campus and party scene. Good luck!
Happy thanksgiving!!! DS20 just got his acceptance to Pitt. So exciting, his first acceptance anywhere. No info on honors college or merit. Not sure if/when we will hear more. Still such an exciting add to the day!
@Momofmanytoo My good friend at work had the same issue last year. Twins who were in the same boat profile wise as your students and were initially set on two different schools.
When their baby b in your case went to visit baby a first choice school she liked it as well. It wasnât her first choice but it was the others.
Long story a bit shorter. They decided on the same school, but not roommates.
The conclusion. Incredibly happy to have a travel partner. Instant friend when there was some drama. Also someone to look out for each other at parties etc. Parents see both when they visit which saves choosing and money in a big way.
Itâs been a home run for them as a family and the time and travel issues, clerical matters that have been eliminated are not to be overlooked.
Homesickness etc also was reduced.
Regarding siblings at the same school⊠it really depends on the kids. My D16 was completely against going to the school S15 went to. He took a gap year so theyâd be in the same graduating class. She wanted her own adventure. When her decision time came, it was down to the wire but she really connected with her brotherâs school. On a campus with only 384 kids (yup, only 384 in the whole college) they hardly see each other, have to make dates to catch up, and get most of their info about how the other is doing from me. They travel in very different circles and both are getting exactly what they wanted out of their college experience. They are graduating in May and will miss knowing the other lives in the same building but they certainly lived their own lives while they were there.