My son is at Ithaca College and we really could not be happier with his experience there. He is a music major and has grown in ways I never dreamed possible. If anyone needs a fee waiver to apply, please let me know. They are currently running a promotion and I would be happy to “nominate” (as they call it) your child.
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One story is not every story.
Coming to read posts on this forum helps me feel better, because I can see that in the middle of the many stories about college decisions, I’m ok to do what makes the most sense for me. And because other people are doing what makes the most sense for them.
And I feel better because there are people here willing to help me celebrate the college process, and commiserate about the college process. I don’t have to agree with everyone, and I don’t need to get in a long debate. It’s just nice to know there are good people thinking as much about this for the next generation as I seem to be.
Thank y’all for the boost. I appreciate it!!
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S had an athletic overnight last night at one of his top choices. He drove the 90 minutes into the city by himself. This will be a stark contrast to his overnight last week which we flew in for and was in a very rural area. They rolled out the red carpet for him there and I guess one might argue that they need to due to location lol. He will need to decide very quickly on ED — the app due date is Friday! Anyway I am VERY eager to hear how last night went, I have had to sit on my hands to resist texting him.
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One more acceptance, to St Joseph’s. This was a last-minute add because it’s both near family and has an interesting-looking linguistics major (given C25’s linguistics interests), but the scholarship they offered, while impressive in raw dollar numbers, isn’t going to cut it given the sticker price it’s reducing. (Which is a shame, I actually like the place, but C25’s reaction to pretty much every acceptance is the same shrug, no idea how I’m supposed to read that.)
Also, yesterday C25 and every other senior in the same DE program applied to the college where they’re taking their DE classes. That one’s effectively an auto-accept, and the price would be good, but there’s no linguistics major—and even if C25 went to a third-choice major, economics, that’s a business-oriented program rather than one focusing on human behavior more generally. So pretty much no chance of going there, but it looks good for the DE program if their students at least apply, so no worries about it.
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First college music audition went so well she was offered admission and was recommended for a scholarship! They’ll send out an official offer soon. I don’t know if it’ll work financially yet but I’m so happy for D. She was so tense before and hopefully having such a positive experience with this school will help ease her nerves for the next schools.
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This is incredibly exciting! Hoping it boosts confidence in her abilities through this process and helps with the momentum. Good luck to her going forward.
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OV #2 went well, but S preferred the experience at OV #1. So I guess we now have an ED app in the making and a known good backup school. (Pre-read had indicated he was in at #2 with merit.)
S has been told that acceptance to #1 will hinge on this semester’s grades and he is struggling with Calculus — waivering between a 79 and 80 which they said would be ok since everything else was A or A+. Just hoping he can keep it in B range for the rest of the semester. He is going in for extra help and we have hired a tutor but the teacher is just awful. More than half the class dropped out and the remaining kids are struggling. His guidance counselor said she’d be sure to put his performance into context so hopefully that will help!
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I added Saint Joe’s as a last minute tour this summer and D25 loved it. She too is in (27k/merit but as you said, $$$). With her slight tweak to major preference, it isn’t on the tippy top anymore. Only TE would make it a true contender.
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My daughter received her second acceptance this week! She has a couple more short answer / essay questions to compose for an honors program, which she is not thrilled about, but she’s gamely working on them anyway.
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I’ve pondered this post for a few days. Primarily because there is a lot of wisdom in it and, I didn’t know (still don’t) if I could add anything to it. In the end, I figured “oh well, let’s give it a go”.
So, the substance of your post touches on a comment upthread: getting into 4 of the schools your son is considering should be considered a win (it certainly would be in my book). If that is indeed the goal, then how best to go about that?
I agree with your friend that if your son, or any applicant for that matter, is wildly successful in the application process, then some tough decisions have to be made and one has to consider how effective they are at making decisions. On the flip side, if their results are the opposite, how will they deal with all the rejections? Both sides of that coin are a challenge.
Then you have the issue of diminishing returns on applications: burnout, lack of time, and, if something in the application package is simply not working - e.g., an essay - is it having a negative effect across all your applications. Simply put, is the 14th application as good as the 7th? The 20th?
But, choice is also good. Especially where the applicant is still unsure of major, type of school, location, etc. Is 2 options enough? 5, 10, 20?
Striking a balance between applying to enough schools, while trying to ensure variety in the final decision matrix, while also not overdoing it, is incredibly difficult.
2plustrio’s daughter certainly has a variety of options. I’m really happy for her. I’m also envious (at least a little) of your son’s list which really provides a potential for a variety of choice. I suspect that my D will apply to about half the number of your son, but, for the most part, they are largely indistinguishable other than location. That’s ok, but I feel that she could have eliminated some and added some others for flavor. For example, I really think something like a Rice or a WashU would be a place that she could thrive. But alas.
In the end, if I had more control over my D’s list (I make suggestions, but the list is her’s), I think the length is about right, but the content needs tweaking.
At any rate, thanks for your post.
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D25s list would have been shorter if she was more clear on her choice of major. In my mama heart I knew but of course I know nothing. 
I can realistically see the final list being around 6 schools or so.
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I am concerned about admittance to multiple schools as well. I am reaching burnout on the visits (financially and mentally) so I think he’s gonna have to choose based on what he’s seen so far unless there’s a very compelling reason to make another trip somewhere (great $$ or feeling super excited about the academics or team). Unfortunately, all his schools are a plane ride away except for one. Really hoping his ED works out!!
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S25 is a recruited athlete, so that was the major driver for him. Nevertheless, there were other aspects that helped him narrow down the list even further.
We started with a list of 15, but S25 had a few non-negotiables that made it easier to narrow the list down: distance from home, school size, proximity to a city with good employment/internship opportunities, cost, and little to no Greek life.
From there, we spent time watching many videos not only about the school and programs they offer, but also student videos about the dorms, cafeteria, etc. which are quite informative! For the videos, you have to branch out from the school’s official channels to get even better insights.
At the end the list had 5 schools.
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At first I felt concerned, and somehow now I feel like our list actually was fine. We didn’t get to visit the out of state ones though, waiting to see what happens with December EA releases. Our farthest is a plane ride or a day drive to Alabama.
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I have no idea the genre, but this sounds like an excellent premise for a movie.
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MidwestPackParent HS Class of 2025
I have no idea the genre, but this sounds like an excellent premise for a movie.
I’m picturing something along the lines of the original Muppet Movie….movin’ right along…..
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Funny, my first thought was a Thelma and Louise vibe 
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S25’s list is in a holding pattern until he hears back about his ED application. If he is deferred, he will probably cull his list a little bit, but not much. And if he ends up with multiple options in the spring, I’d be psyched for him. He’s got such a diverse list it would be really interesting to see how he would evaluate the options if he had them. Like others though, I think he is pretty spent on visiting more schools or adding anything to his list at this point. He just couldn’t process anymore at the end of last month when he decided to apply ED. I had my concerns about the decision to do so because it could close out other options, but I think we have realized that he wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on an ED app if the school didn’t pass the “broken leg test” for him (as in, if he couldn’t do his sport there, he’d most likely still thrive there).
His list is kind of all over the map, and that used to bother me a lot. Both his dad and I agree though that he is the kind of kid that will make the most of wherever he lands. Plus, I am kind of financially spent on school visits for now as we head into the winter sports season and all of its travel demands. So hopefully ED works out!
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LOL. It is truly a day’s drive from us up north, though pushing it hard for a day. It’s the least likely on kid’s list not in acceptance but just what I think they are looking for. Well, except for the football atmosphere and sports in general. It was a free application.
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First acceptance for my son-UMinn. He’s so excited to get one in. It’s a good feeling.
OOS. LSA. Coincidentally we are touring it on Friday so it’s great timing.
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