Parents of the HS Class of 2024 (Part 2)

We are finished after D20, D23 and now S24. You are going to feel awesome next spring, I promise!!

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Omg! Doing it once more next year is so hard but good in a way as you will still remember some stuff. I completely forgot after 3 years and it was as new as it was the first time!

I feel like I’ve been at this straight through since summer 2021. So grateful for our amazing college office that was there every step of the way and started the ball rolling with D25 back in January.

If anyone has questions, I’m a pro by now :joy:

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D24 was accepted at her final college tonight. So the application phase is finally done! I think that she will have a tough time making a decision since she is not head over heels with any of the colleges. The good news is that she now has four acceptances (1 SCEA, 3 RD), 1 waitlist (RD) and 1 rejection (RD). The rejection and waitlist last week stung a lot, but the other good news has helped her move on. I doubt that she will stay on the waitlist. We’ve gotten preliminary award letters based off the CSS profile. All four colleges are affordable though it is quite a range. The least expensive does not expect a family contribution and will give her a stipend each semester. The most expensive would be a definite stretch for our family and she’ll need a campus job for us to make it wok, but it is probably doable if she really wants to go. She still has a couple of external scholarships that might come through, and either would definitely help if she chooses the most expensive college.

Once D24 is settled, I have a 3 year break before the next kid gets started (S28 and then D30). Thank goodness. Can’t imagine doing this all over again next year.

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Wishing you good luck for December 2024 decision.

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7000 waitlist spots! unimaginable.

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Commenting on behalf of both my father and I: Tonight the hell of an application season finally closed for me, with my Duke decision being the last. Here are the results of my applications:

Acceptances:
University of Houston
Southwestern University
Miami Ohio
Washington College
Goucher College (Dorsey Scholar Finalist)
Allegheny College
Seton Hall University
Mercer College
ASU
Clark University
Lehigh University
UT Austin
George Washington University
American University
Occidental College
Washington and Lee (Johnson Finalist)

Waitlists:
Swarthmore (Most likely will become a rejection)
Georgetown (Most likely will become a rejection)

Denials:
Duke (Predicted ahead of time, did not see any real chance of acceptance.)

Final Thoughts: This application season has been an emotional rollercoaster. I feel like I shot myself in the foot with 19 applications, but seems that FOMO took over. Overall, I’m happy with the results that I’ve gotten. Now, I’m just tired and do not want to touch any application EVER AGAIN. Sad I got waitlisted from Georgetown, my #1 school, but that’s okay with me - I’ve got other schools I love.

I can’t speak exactly for what my father feels about this (probably happy about not needing to remind me about essays & more), but I feel like I’ve come out of this a little battered, but still afloat. Congratulations to everyone & their families, the finish line is in sight!

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I think you did insanely OUSTANDING.

Any leaders?

Do you have need? If so, some of these like W&L might come in strong. My daughter was also a finalist (for Weinstein, not Johnson) and got in, but unfortunately, no aid.

You have many a great name- prestigious and maybe less known but frankly all are great schools.

Let us know what you decide.

No matter if you apply to 5 or 19, you’re only going to one - and hopefully that best fit for you is on that list - so overdid it or not, you’ve likely gotten a great result (assuming at least one is affordable).

Congrats to you .

Very impressed.

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You did good and we are proud of ya.

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Right now it’s between W&L, Occidental, UT Austin, and Lehigh. Although, these might change once the fiasco of a FAFSA evens out, and I get the final numbers & appeals.

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Maybe you had FOMO - I dunno - but that’s a heck of a list anyone would want to have :slight_smile: So there was a method to your madness!!

Great job!!

What will you study?

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The most important lesson from cc to future applicants is analysing the train wreck strategies / college lists and drawing instructive conclusions for their upcoming application year.

  • Too many applications to produce good essays (25+ individual apps!)
  • Mismatch between grades/SAT/ACT and college list / overweight in reach school / underweight in safeties
  • forgetting to apply to reliable safeties in-state, foreign universities where the admission is exclusively driven by grades
  • omitting to apply to great universities which don’t require additional essays (Clemson, Wesleyan, McGill, Toronto)
  • omitting to apply to school networks which require the same set of essays for a syndicate of schools (UCs)
  • any other?
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Personally, I think the scheme at our HS ended up serving us well. We don’t use ā€œSafetiesā€, we use ā€œLikeliesā€, ā€œTargetsā€, ā€œReachesā€, and ā€œUnlikeliesā€. We conservatively define these with a combination of college/school/major data and individual numbers, of course filtering for affordability, and realistic merit when appropriate. We spend a lot of effort identifying Likelies and Targets that our kids would be excited to attend. We don’t waste time on Unlikelies, and Reaches are really the least interesting/least effort part of the process.

Do all that and make sure you have a balanced list, and you will likely be happy in the end.

In terms of tips, I agree looking outside the US can be interesting.

So can looking outside the most popular coastal markets. In fact, my S24 was blanked in the Northeast (not including Rochester which I consider Great Lakes) . . . all hard reaches but still.

So can looking at early rolling colleges. Those first admits to Pitt and St Andrews really provide a solid level of comfort.

But I think all this is subject to individual preferences, financial considerations, and so on. As long as you follow the above general approach, though, I think you will likely be able to come up with a plan that works for you.

In short, to me it is really about having a well-informed, bottom-up process. Combined with understanding that zigging where peers are zagging is often a good idea.

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You really are a pro!

Just wanted to say how amazing this forum has been. It’s been an emotional roller coaster the past 6 months seeing my first born through the college process but I honestly would have been lost and alone without the support and knowledge of members here. I still have one kiddo left for class of 27. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone and to all the kids out there having to make decisions still, it’s not the college that makes you, it’s you that will be in control of your future. Work hard, play harder and enjoy the ride! Good luck to the class of 2024! Shine on!

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S24 just got an email asking about sending AP scores. Is there any down side to using the free score report? He should do well on 3/4, one is a question mark due to poor teaching and he did well on the two that are already score, although neither do anything for placement or credit.

What a list of amazing acceptances! Congratulations! Gold stars!!! I wish my '24 had been as industrious with applications. Dang. I’ve no idea what you will study, but here’s some Lehigh info that might help? My in-laws are a big multi-generational Lehigh family and the professional network / career opportunities have been so impressive to see. They all love the school. Kids seem very happy there. I’ve heard same about Occidental. I don’t know about the others mostly because of my geographic location. Plus kid who refused to visit colleges where there’s no skiing. :roll_eyes: As you might imagine, that makes for quite a ā€œlist.ā€ I hope you are celebrating!!!

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So none of these would force him into a more advanced class? I think that is the only possible downside. A lot of times it makes more sense to not accelerate in math or science.

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Well, that was quick. S24 thought about it overnight and we are down to WUSTL and Carleton. Not really a surprise, those were both fantastic visits and they each make a lot of sense in their own ways. We’re signing up for visits on consecutive weekends and making sure NiceUnparticularMom can come–he is very much in need of a different perspective.

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He is taking calc BC this year which would advance him in math (he should get a 4 or 5 in since he is flying through the class with minimal effort) and ap lit which if he gets a 5 would allow him to skip to 200 level writing classes. I am trying to convince him to not skip the intro to physics class for majors since that is the one that has a poor teacher, but I think that he needs a placement test for that regardless.

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